The reactions of the leaders are still fresh in my mind. We took a closer look at some scriptures related to the fruits of teaching the Law of Moses, and the reactions came immediately. They saw it clearly.

Let’s have a look at a few of the verses we discussed. “Moreover, the law entered that the offense might abound (Rom 5:20).”  “I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, ‘You shall not cover.’ But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. But apart from the law sin was dead (Rom 7:7-8).” “The strength of sin is the law (1 Cor 15:56).”

If I ask you to close your eyes and NOT think about a barbeque chicken, rice and Fanta, what happens? You will probably think about it! Why? Because I put it in your thoughts. That became your focus, even if I said you should NOT do it. In the same way; if we teach a lot against different kind of sins, then those very things might probably come into people’s minds. Let us therefore stop focusing on sins and start focusing on Jesus, His Finished work on the cross, who He is in us and who we are in Him. Then that will be in people’s minds, and they will be released to live accordingly.

Enjoy the important teaching articles on Real Change presented in this GGN newsletter, and let God reveal to you who you really are because of Jesus!

Merry Christmas!

The second part of a series on how to experience “Real Change.”

CHANGE YOUR BELIEF SYSTEM

To initiate real, long-lasting change, first and foremost you must revolutionize your belief system. What this means is that you transform the way you believe, or have been taught, and start aligning your thoughts with God’s Word. Before you start to think, “Oh, well that’s easy,” let me give you a dose of reality.

Changing your belief system takes work – and a lot of it! Depending on how much you have been incorrectly taught will determine how much readjusting will be required. The good news is it can be done, and when you begin to see how God really sees you, it will release you to become the follower of Jesus He has made you to be!

One of the most important ways to have a shift in your belief system is by changing what you hear.

One of the most important ways to have a shift in your belief system is by changing what you hear. The Bible clearly says that faith comes by hearing, and hearing, and hearing, and hearing. (Romans 10:17) Well, faith isn’t the only thing that grows by hearing. Doubt, condemnation, unbelief and religious thinking all come the same way: by hearing! It’s simple. If you are constantly surrounded by those who keep reminding you what a “bad person” you used to be (or maybe still are), then you need to change your surroundings. Get around people who will tell you what God really says you are: righteous, holy, and redeemed! It’s the first step in changing the way you believe.

A few years ago, I started inserting a statement right in the middle of my messages that I knew would catch people’s attention. I use it to prove a powerful point; but honestly, I think it’s just as much fun to watch people’s reaction! After giving a scripture reference to the audience, I say, “Now, I want everybody in this room who is holy to read this verse out loud with me.” Then, I just stand there and watch! The different responses are priceless. They range from “What did he just say?” to “Holy? Well, he sure isn’t talking about me!” (Sometimes I think I would get a better response if I cursed in the middle of my message!) Just when everyone has that cow-at-a-new gate look, I take it a bit further and say, “Hey, if you’re a believer, you’re the one I’m talking to!” Now, if I were to say, “I want every person who used to be an old sinner to open and read with me,” practically everybody in the place would say, “Amen, brother. That’s me!” Do you see where we’ve missed it? Why is it so easy to relate and connect to what we used to be, but so hard to identify what we now are by God’s grace? The answer is simple: We need a belief system makeover! We need to start believing what the Bible – not religious doctrine –says about us.
Remember, what you believe, you become. Thus, if you are going to live and experience real change, you must first change the way you believe to align your thoughts with what God says about you!

SEE HIM LIKE HE IS

Have you ever heard people say things like, “I can’t wait to get to heaven because then I’m going to see Jesus for what He really is?” Even though there is some merit to this statement – one day we will see Jesus face to face - not examining what the Scripture says can cause you to miss something God really intended for you here, right now, on this earth.

Take a look at what the Bible says:
“Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”
1 John 3:2

It would be easy to see how you could read this verse and only relate it to God revealing Himself in heaven. But, that’s not where the power of this scripture is found. You see, God’s not waiting for you to get to heaven to disclose His power and nature to you. He wants to reveal Himself to you right now…through His Word! You don’t have to wait until the Second Coming to have a revelation of Him; you can find Him, today, in the Scripture. This is so important to understand for this one, simple fact:

Whatever Him you see is the Him you’ll be!

Go back and see how this verse starts out. It says, “Beloved, now we are children of God…” Most Christians completely skip over the most important word of this verse – “now”. When? Now! Then the question is, “When is ‘now’?” and the answer is, “Right now”! Not in the sweet by and by; not someday, sometime, in good things and deserved to be called a child of God. NO. Look at what the Bible says, “Now, we are the children of God.” That means the second you believed, right that instant, you qualified for this verse. There’s no waiting period.
NOW you are a child of God!

instead of learning the real nature and characteristics of their Heavenly Father, most Christians spend the majority of their time on another issue: battling their own weaknesses and failures

And guess what children do? In most cases, they strive to mimic their parents! Why do you think little boys cover their soft, young faces with shaving cream and little girls prance around in high heels way too big for them and color their faces with make-up? It’s because children’s inherent nature is to be like their parents. And when they do the little things to become like mom and dad (even at a young age), it makes those parents blossom with pride! It’s the same way spiritually. The Bible says that we should be “imitators of God as dear children.” (Ephesians 5:1) Every child of God should be imitating their Heavenly Father. But, instead of learning the real nature and characteristics of their Heavenly Father, most Christians spend the majority of their time on another issue: battling their own weaknesses and failures.
Everyone knows their own weaknesses and areas of struggle in the flesh; they greet you every morning as soon as you look into the mirror! But, have you ever stopped to think why these areas of weaknesses in your life are so prevalent and easy to see? It’s simple. They have been revealed to you over and over again. As a matter of fact, some Christians are reminded about them every single Sunday – in Church nonetheless – from a preacher who wants to keep them more bound to their weakness than free in God’s grace.
And we wonder why so many believers stay in a spiritual rut!
This is how real change happens.

YOU MUST SAY “YES!”

During the 1980’s and early 1990’s, a campaign was launched which was part of the United States’ war on drugs. Millions of dollars were spent to make sure every child in America knew these three, famous words: Just Say No. Its original intent was to discourage children from engaging in recreational drug use, but after a few years, the scope broadened to include the realms of violence, premarital sex, and other issues in which young people were tempted to participate.

The “Just Say No” slogan was a good catch phrase and produced some positive, mostly short-term results; however, it was lacking one very important element which produces long-term change. You see, before you can just say, “No” to something, you must first say, “Yes” to something greater! Just saying, “No” to temptation and the weaknesses of your flesh is not enough. Many people say, “No” but turn right around and do the same thing over and over again. And what happens when this method doesn’t work? It produces more frustration than victory – more condemnation than change.
As if the guilt of making the same mistakes over and over again isn’t enough to carry, some Christians heap more blame on their heads by asking, “Why am I resisting the devil, just like the Bible says, but he’s not going away?” They try and try to say, “No” to every attack of the enemy, yet with little results. Well, the answer to their frustration is found in the exact same verse they referred to. Take a look at this verse in its entirety:

“Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”
James 4:7

Here’s the missing ingredient: resisting the devil (a.k.a just saying no) is only half of the equation. In order to live a life of constant victory over your flesh, something else has to happen first. You must submit to God. You cannot have the power to say, “No” to sin without first saying “Yes” to the only sustaining force that can keep you from sin. In other words, without submission to righteousness, it is impossible to resist sin. Trying to fight the devil and conquer your flesh in your own strength will not only keep you in the vicious cycle of defeat, it will also drive you crazy! But, there is a way to stand against the devil and watch him run from you: by completely submitting your life to the powerful grace of God.

Before you “just say no,” start by saying, “yes” to the wonderful life of grace

If submitting to God is the key to victory over the devil, then why do so many Christians still struggle with temptation and sin? Why don’t they learn how to first say, “Yes” to God? One of the reasons is there’s generally more pulpit time devoted to emphasize the weakness of the flesh than the power of righteousness and grace. They hear all the things they “can’t do” but never have an understanding of what they “can do” through submission to God. So, let me be one to bring a bit of good news here: you can submit to God. You can resist the devil and live a life that conquers sin. The power to live a life of real change is rooted in your ability to completely surrender to His grace. When you do, here’s something you will quickly notice:

When you surrender to God’s grace, resistance to sin becomes less of an issue.

Before you “just say no,” start by saying, “yes” to the wonderful life of grace. When you do so, you are positioned to walk not according to your flesh, but according to this grace you have already surrendered to!

KEEP GROWING IN GRACE

Many times, you will see me reference this life of grace as a journey. And that’s exactly what it is! But it probably will not happen overnight. That’s okay! Start where you are and take one step at a time. Begin to change your belief system. Start seeing God like He is right now! Submit your whole life to God and watch the devil flee! You’ve begun a process known as growing in the grace of God. Not that God’s grace is changing – it’s been the same since Jesus came and fulfilled all the Law – but your revelation and knowledge of how to live His grace will constantly be growing. Once you start walking in the truth of righteousness and grace, here’s one thing you will immediately realize: the more you encounter God, the less you have to and the more you want to!
Many people who have been believers for a long period of time have asked me, “David, why doesn’t God give me a word like He used to when I was a baby Christian?” My answer surprises most of them. I say, “Well, I wouldn’t be bothered about it because it’s really a sign of maturity.” See, when you are young in the Lord, you needed every bit of external confirmation and spiritual development you could find. But, as you grow in God, you will find that you no longer need a spiritual IV. Before, long, you will be standing on your own two feet and walking by faith!

It’s called the power of love, and love is the greatest change agent available to man.

Does this mean you will never make any more mistakes? Certainly not. Will you have any more temptations of your flesh? Most assuredly. But, here’s the difference. The more you grow, understand, and walk in God’s grace, the more you love Him, and the more you will want to unashamedly live your life to honor Him! Not because you have to….but because you want to. It’s called the power of love, and love is the greatest change agent available to man.

When my sons were in their pre-teen years, it seemed like I was constantly telling them to brush their teeth, put on deodorant, and comb their hair. Sometimes I would threaten them within an inch of their lives, but still there were less than favourable results… until! Until the day they actually became interested in some girl. All of a sudden, I didn’t have to ask them to do anything. As a matter of fact, I would have to kick them out of the bathroom because they spent so much time primping. And as soon as they walked out, you could smell the cheap cologne two blocks away. What was the difference? When they had to, it was a task; but when they wanted to, they never had to be asked or threatened.

They did it out of love.

the more you know Him, the more you love Him

This is the exact same principle in your walk with God: the more you know Him, the more you love Him. The more you are formed into His image on the inside of you, the more you become like Him. During your walk of grace, people may not always see who you are on the outside, but that can never change who you are on the inside – righteous, holy, and redeemed!

Keep walking.

Keep growing in the grace God has so lavishly poured out on you. Live in His grace and don’t be subject to the law. Stop beating yourself up every time you stumble, fall, or make a mistake. Let God’s Word change your belief system, so you can see who and what you really are in Christ. Stop focusing on what it takes to “qualify” you for God’s grace and get a revelation of what Jesus provided for you at the cross! Once you believe that, then start boldly declaring it, and then watch how this revelation builds in your heart. Then you better watch out…

….Real, lasting, life-long change is coming your way!

When Jesus met His closest followers after the resurrection, they didn’t recognize Him. But when Jesus reveals Himself something happens.

Mark 16:9-14 Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils. 10 And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept. 11 And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not. 12 After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country. 13 And they went and told it unto the residue: neither believed they them. 14 Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen. (KJV)

THEY COULD NOT BELIEVE

Here unfolds an incredible account of Jesus AFTER the resurrection and the state or the condition of His closest followers.  These were those who had followed Him day by day. They had seen the miracles, watched Him walk on the water and witnessed Him raising Lazarus from the dead. They were there when literally thousands of people were fed to the full with a little boy’s lunch.

Oh, the things they had seen and heard! They had even been given power by Jesus over sickness, disease and torment and sent out on short-term mission trips.  Jesus had told them that trouble was coming and He even told them where to meet Him.
32 But after I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee. (KJV)  When the dust settles, meet me in Galilee.

Could it be that these people were so entrenched in religion even after being with Jesus for over three years?

Let’s take a closer look at some of this, because we can discover a very important truth. Why is it they could not believe?  Could it be that these people were so entrenched in religion even after being with Jesus for over three years? They were raised under the Law of Moses, but Jesus came with a new sound and the power of God flowed through Him.

They still did not know the amazing revelation of “Christ in you, the hope of glory!”  They knew Jesus as God outside of themselves - we know Him as God who lives inside of us!

They saw him fulfill the Law to the letter.  He had given them a glimpse of what was coming but they just couldn’t get a hold of it yet, because everything they saw was filtered through the eyes of the Law.
John 16:12 I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.

After the resurrection Jesus began to reveal Himself to them and they began to see Jesus without the veil of the flesh, without the veil of the Law and all the reasoning of their minds.  When we, too, meet Jesus, soon everything else begins to come into focus in our lives.

Let’s look at the account of the two disciples who met Him while travelling into the country.
Luke 24:13 And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs. 14 And they talked together of all these things which had happened. 15 And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them.16 But their eyes were restrained that they should not know him. KJV

Faith should come by hearing, but sometimes it is clouded by circumstances and clouded by a religious mind that is trying to figure it all out.

These two had already heard that Jesus was alive by the report of Mary and the other women, but they didn’t believe.  Faith should come by hearing, but sometimes it is clouded by circumstances and clouded by a religious mind that is trying to figure it all out. Remember, the disciples had been told by Jesus to go to Galilee and meet Him, but instead they were mourning and weeping when the women came. 

As these men were headed on the seven and one-half mile journey home talking about the recent events, when they should have been headed for Galilee, Jesus joins them in the journey. But they don’t even know who He is. 

Many people in the world today don’t recognize who Jesus really is.  Christian churches are filled with people who know religion very well. But I wonder if Jesus were to join them in their journey, would they even know who He is? 

SEEING THE RISEN CHRIST

These disciples were all concerned about the terrible things they had seen, and Jesus, who was the main person in the drama says, “What things?” 
Luke 24:27-36 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. 28 Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther. 29 But they constrained Him, saying, “Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.” And He went in to stay with them.
30 Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight.

When they sat down to eat, Jesus begins to break bread and pass it around the table. He must have begun to look familiar - His mannerisms and how He handled Himself. Then suddenly they knew – He is alive!  He is risen!  It is all true!  The filter of the Law disappeared and the cloud of circumstance faded away!

32 And they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?”

We can never really understand the Old Covenant until we see the risen Christ!

They felt so alive while He talked with them and for the first time the Old Covenant began to truly make sense in their hearts. We can never really understand the Old Covenant until we see the risen Christ!  It was now dark, it was getting late, they had been through a very traumatic few days, and then travelled for seven and one-half miles to go home. But they didn’t even finish their meal.
33 So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, 34 saying, “The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” 35 And they told about the things that had happened on the road, and how He was known to them in the breaking of bread.

Hearts on fire! They couldn’t hold it in any longer but carried that fire for a three-hour walk back to Jerusalem. They had to go to where the others were. I can almost feel the beat of their hearts as they got closer to Jerusalem. They probably started running and shouting before they ever got there!

In Mark’s account of this, even when these two disciples came all the way back, filled with this revelation, they found the eleven and the others still gathered in sorrow, mourning, and unbelief. They did not believe. This was a tough group - a group bound in circumstances - seeing through the natural reality of the gentile mind. 

36 Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, “Peace to you.” (NKJ)  Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted!  Peace be to you.
Luke 24:37 But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. 

They still did not believe! They didn’t believe Mary and they didn’t believe these two disciples. Now Jesus was standing right in front of them and they still did not believe!  They were blinded by the Law, blinded by fear, and blinded by the natural circumstances.
38 And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts?
39 Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.  40 And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet.

Jesus personally tells them “it is I Myself.” Handle me. Then He showed them His hands and feet where the nails had gone through, and still…
41 And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat? (KJV)
Luke 24:42 And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. 43 And he took it, and did eat before them. 44 And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.
45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, KJV

It is time to meet the risen Savior, Jesus Christ! He paid the full price on the cross. He bore our sins, He bore our sickness; He became poor so that we can be blessed to be a blessing. He is our guide, and a friend who sticks closer than a brother. He has defeated all the powers of death and hell; He conquered so that we can become more than conquerors!  We always triumph in Christ Jesus! Not only is He risen, He is ascended and seated – far above all principality, power, dominion and might, and has raised us up to be seated together with Him in glory! 

One very important thing I have come to know over the years is this: truth is a progression. As you walk with the Lord, God will continue to change the way you see Him. This is so important for the simple reason that the image of God you believe is the image of God you become. It also determines the way you show God to other people. If you think God is mean and hateful, guess what? You’re probably going to be mean and hateful. If you think God doesn’t like you, more than likely you will deal with acceptance issues your entire life. However, the more you get to know the real character and personality of God, the more of the real Him you project to others around you.

the image of God you believe is the image of God you become

When I was growing up as a child, my image of God was a bit distorted mainly because of how those around me saw Him. Many times, I would hear statements like, “David, you better watch out. God is going to get you!” or “I don’t know how much more God is going to take!” Of course, the one that really grabbed my attention was, “I think God has just about had enough of that!” I remember thinking, “Man, what happens when God finally does get fed up?” The answers I came up with just filled my heart with fear.

Those images even carried into my teenage years and early adulthood. I just knew that God was some angry, old man out there about 700 miles from Mars with a huge stick in His hand and His index finger resting on the “kill all” button! In my mind, all God was waiting on was for me, or someone around me, to step over the line – cross the point of no return – and then “zap.” It would all be over but the dying and the crying.

What was happening to me? I was forming an image based on what those around me believed. What complicated it even more was all of the sermons I heard about how we were supposed to “love our enemies.” I remember scratching my head thinking, “Now, wait a minute. We serve a God who is ready to kill us, His children, but we are supposed to love those who hate and despitefully use us? How can we do that?” To this day, this still makes no sense to me at all. But, thank God, I didn’t stay in that state of mind.

I was forming an image based on what those around me believed.

A progression of truth started in my mind.

As I grew older and learned more about who God really is and not just what others said about Him, I began to see Him in a completely different light. The God I knew was a God of wrath, but the truth of His nature – His love and grace – was now being revealed in my heart. I began to see how the love of God drew people to Him and not the fear of going to hell or the dreaded “kill all” button. For the first time in my life, I was seeing God for who He really is.

The God I knew was a God of wrath, but the truth of His nature – His love and grace – was now being revealed in my heart.

While I loved this new perception about Him, I still lived far below my potential in Him. I was, once again, a product of what I heard. People were always quick to tell me how undeserving I was, how God required a holy life that I could never live, and no matter what I did, it would never be good enough to be considered “righteous.” To make it even worse, they had Scripture to back up all of their theories and ideology. The only trouble was they were grossly misusing the Bible!

For the first time in my life, I was seeing God for who He really is.

The truth is many Christians are still doing the same thing today.

DON’T STOP HALFWAY

Let’s take for example one of the most misquoted verses in the New Testament. It’s found in Romans chapter three. Its one of those scriptures many people learn in their Christian walk, and sadly, wear it boldly like some holy badge of honor. The scripture I’m talking about is this: “As it is written: ‘There is none righteous, no, not one’” (Roman 3:10)

It’s very obvious that this verse says no one is righteous. The problem is, most people stop right there. Religious-minded Believers will say, “See! Right there, the Bible says that not one of us is righteous. We are all filthy rags and dogs in God’s sight!” While this may sound good and “holy,” the trouble is this passage doesn’t stop there. It continues with an explanation of who this verse applies to, and guess what? It’s not for the New Covenant Believer. Take a look: “Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law…..” (Romans 3:19)

Seeing this verse in context, who does the Bible say is not righteous? It’s easy to see: Those who are the Law. This entire passage of Scripture – from verse 10 through verse 19 – is actually a quote from the Old Testament that Paul uses to later prove a point. So, yes, while it is true the Old Testament Law says no one can live righteous, there is better news: We have been redeemed from the curse of the law! (Galatians 3:13) You see, it’s not about what God is going to do; it’s about what He has already done over 2000 years ago! The church need not stop in any verse of the Bible which condemns us to unrighteousness, but move forward to understand that Jesus became our curse, took our unrighteousness, and paid the price for us to be and live in righteousness before God!

And the truth of that revelation is just beginning.

Part 1 of a series on how to experience real change.

The day you believed and said ‘Yes’ to Jesus, something happened. You changed! Now you probably looked exactly the same on the outside, but something drastically changed in your inner-man. At that very moment, your spirit-man moved from death to life, from darkness to light, and you left a state of being lost to becoming a child of the living God! This transformation is so radical that Jesus termed it as being ‘born again.’ (John 3:3) Literally, in a split second, your old man died and the new you came alive in Christ Jesus.

The new birth transformation is something most every Christian, even the ultra religious crowd, can agree on. We all shout, “Hallelujah, another sinner was saved by grace,” but after their initial conversion, so many people are quick to abandon the grace which led them to salvation in the first place. Instead of walking in grace and growing in grace, they automatically go back to what they have always known - the works of the flesh. But, whose fault is it that these new Christians leave God’s grace? Can new babies in Christ really be held completely responsible to walk this new experience by themselves? I don’t think the issue lies with the new Believer, but more with those who indoctrinate them with religious, Law-based, traditional thinking.

Think of a natural baby. What would happen if two weeks after he/she were born, their parents said, “Ok, you’re alive in this world now, our job is over. Learn the best way you can!”? I’ll tell you what would happen. Those parents would end up in jail with the key thrown far away! Yet, over and over again, spiritual babies are left to figure out how to walk with God all by themselves. Or, even worse, someone who is still entangled with the Law immediately begins to pollute their mind with what they think is the New Testament way to live. Soon, what started as “Oh, brother, just believe,” changes to “Now, brother, this is what you have to do…”

Soon, what started as “Oh, brother, just believe,” changes to “Now, brother, this is what you have to do…”

But, believing and doing almost always contradict each other!

Is it any wonder why so many Christians – even those who have been saved for a number of years – are still spiritual babies? They still have to drink spiritually pre-digested, processed milk, still have to be spoon- fed every meal, and some can’t even walk on their own. Think about a natural child who is in the fifth grade, but still brings a bottle of baby formula to school everyday for lunch. You would probably say, “That child’s parents need to be whipped,” and rightfully so. But, in the Church, we just let people crawl around in spiritual diapers for years without holding their spiritual teachers accountable.

I believe it’s time to speak what the Bible says and break the chains of religion, so Christians can be set free. I can’t think of any place better to start than to look at how God’s Word says change – real, authentic, long lasting change – takes place in the life of a Believer. 

BACK TO THE BEGINNING

Go back to the day you were born again. Did you have to work up anything? No. you came to Jesus a mess, and in one instant, you left changed. You were only required to do one thing: believe. Stone-cold drunks can come to Jesus so intoxicated that they can’t even spell their name, and in one moment, be changed for eternity. Most of the time, they can’t even tell you what happened, but one thing they do know: God, by His grace, reached down and transformed their entire life. Not just for the drunkards but for anyone who is a Believer, the salvation process was a breeze… but what follows the new birth experience is where people really struggle.

All of my life I have watched good- hearted, God-loving Christians battle with inner-personal issues until the day they went to heaven. They weren’t bad people or backsliders, most of the time, just the opposite. They loved God and were committed to following Him all the days of their lives but they were constantly battling the same things over and over again. Honestly, I never could quite understand why such good people could always be tormented… and defeated… by the same one or two issues and never experience real, long-lasting change and victory. Then one day, while studying about God’s grace, the answer hit me.

And, it wasn’t even that hard to see!

If you were to ask these people about a certain area of temptation or weakness of their flesh, they normally would say, “Oh, keep praying for me brother. I’m working on overcoming it!” This might have been the “right” and religious thing to say, but in reality, it pinpointed the foundation of their problem. The reason they kept having the same battles (and losing the same battles!) was because they were working on it! It was all about them – what they were doing in their own power and strength to overcome the issues. It sounded good, but here is the fallacy of that mindset: The first day they didn’t work at it, they were right back in it!

The reason they kept having the same battles (and losing the same battles!) was because they were working on it!

Maybe you have caught yourself saying this same thing or something similar. You might even be one of those “holy ones” who use the Scripture to back your self-waged war by saying, “I’m working out my salvation just like the Bible says to.” Well, true, you might be working on something alright, but in reality, that weakness and temptation is probably working on you more than you are working on it! One day you have the victory, and the next day you’re back doing what you promised God you would never do again. Let me assure you of one thing: This cycle of frustration will never go away until one thing happens….

….You experience real change!”

THE MIXED BAG

Practically every Christian I know has lived, at one time or another, what I call the “mixed bag” of Christianity. They seem to constantly vacillate between blessing and cursing. One day they have a breakthrough, and the next day it’s hell on earth! It’s victory one week, and “pray for me, the devil’s on my back” the next week. Now, don’t get me wrong, as long as you and I breathe air there will always be temptations and battles. But when we understand and embrace God’s grace, we start living – like the Bible says – from “faith to faith” and from grace to grace! (Romans 1:17)

So what brings the real change we all strive for in our lives? Well, let me start by giving you another mental shift. It is this:

Real change requires no effort!

I can already see you scratching your head and thinking, “What? I can really change without doing one thing?” The answer is “Yes, you can!” I know because for years I tried to do everything just right (remember, I thought God had his finger on the “zap all” button!), and all it produced was a life of frustration, condemnation, and broken promises to God. No matter how many times I said, “God, I will never do that again,” I would still end up doing “that” again. Of course, I could always justify my weakness by quoting the words of Jesus: “The spirit is indeed willing but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26:41) What I forgot to realize was what Jesus was addressing in that passage – the strength to pray, not the weakness of His flesh!

The will to pray wasn’t my issue at all. I could pray all day, every day, but still lived the “mixed bag” Christian life. As a matter of fact, I thought praying more would give me the strength to overcome my flesh. So, I ramped up my prayer time. Guess what? It didn’t help me change one thing. Then I figured that if more prayer wasn’t going to help me defeat these hounding issues, surely fasting would be the key. So, I fasted. And guess what happened? I lost weight (which wasn’t a bad thing!), but was cranky to everyone around me, and I constantly griped about how hungry I was!

Still, no change.

After many years of frustration and self-condemnation, without much lasting results, I knew there had to be another way. I also knew countless other Christians who were being held under this same, demonic mindset. And they, just like me, yearned to be free. So, I began my quest to find real answers, real truth, and real change. This journey was actually twofold: to rid myself of wrong, religious indoctrination that had permeated my mind, and to find out exactly what God’s Word had to say about real change.

What I discovered completely changed my life!

STEPS TO REAL CHANGE

Instead of finding a bunch of scriptures that dealt with “change,” I found more and more truth in the Bible about what causes life-long change: God’s amazing grace! The more I studied, the clearer this incredible message of grace began to live inside my heart. And, today, it’s still growing, developing, and becoming the message that is setting me and many other people free – free to actually be and live what God has called us all to be.

I found more and more truth in the Bible about what causes life-long change: God’s amazing grace!

So, what about you? Are you ready to leave that old “mixed bag” Christian life of frustration and guilt? If so, here are some steps that I believe will help you leave the old way behind, experience real life change, and fall more in love with the grace of God. These are more than just good theories and concepts. I know they work! Open your heart and get ready…

…Ready to experience real change!

Part 2 of this article will follow in the next newsletter. The article is an extract from his new book “Grace Shift.”

Part 3 of a series from Luke 15. What is repentance and how does true repentance come?

A lifestyle or a Life

The Pharisees viewed repentance as changed behavior; to stop doing certain “sinful” things and begin doing other “holier” things.  To stop breaking God’s commandments and instead begin to follow them the best you can was the essence of their religion.  Unfortunately the Pharisees definition of repentance is much the same held by many Christians today – stop drinking, smoking, cursing, lying and instead begin to read your Bible, pray and begin to go to church.  Repentance then becomes something that has to do with our exterior and with our works, instead of turning from our “dead works” [Hebrews 6:1] to Jesus. Christianity becomes a new lifestyle, instead of Him, who is life - Jesus Christ Himself.

Christianity becomes a new lifestyle, instead of Him, who is life - Jesus Christ Himself.

Accept your acceptance

The moment of repentance for the prodigal son was not when he “came to himself” because when we come to ourselves we only find ourselves.  Even when the father ran towards the son, he continued to repeat his own ideas - he was going to pay off his debt to his father; he was going to correct the wrong and make everything right.  The father never commanded his son to stop his rehearsed speech but instead he embraced him with continued kisses and hugs.  Finally the prodigal son becomes silent – no more suggestion on what he himself is going to do but instead he accepts his acceptance from the father.

Finally the prodigal son becomes silent – no more suggestion on what he himself is going to do but instead he accepts his acceptance from the father.

That’s it: accept your acceptance.

The prodigal accepted the father’s love and was restored, not because of anything he had done, but simply because he was a son and loved because of who he is.  This is the real moment of repentance.  The prodigal surrenders his own performance and accepts the love that has been relentlessly seeking for him.

True repentance

How do we view repentance?  Is it about outward changes?  Is it about stopping and starting certain activities?  Give up one habit and create a new one instead? 

Repentance has to do with a change of thinking.  The Greek word is “metanoia” which means to “change your mind” or “change your thinking.” We stop thinking that we ourselves must make everything right; that we are going to restore what we have damaged.  Instead, we receive the free love and grace that is offered to us by our heavenly Father.
A changed lifestyle and good works, which are necessary because we are created for “good works” [Eph 2:10], come only as a result of accepting our acceptance in Jesus Christ. 

How to preach repentance

How do you preach repentance?  In Luke 15, Jesus uses the very word repentance more than any other place.  He clearly says that the story of the good shepherd and the lost sheep is about repentance.  In which way did the sheep repent?  Was the sheep truly and seriously sorrowful that it had walked away?  We are not even sure if the sheep knew that it was lost.  The repentance of the sheep was simply that it accepted its position on the shoulders of the good shepherd.  The sheep was now totally identified with its shepherd.

true repentance happens when we allow God’s love to embrace us, and we accept that we are accepted in Jesus Christ and loved by our creator.

Jesus says that the story of the woman who lost her silver coin is a picture of repentance.  In which way did the coin repent?  Undoubtedly this was a coin common to the Middle Eastern woman who would carry a necklace with coins.  In the case of the woman in Luke 15, she had 10 coins in her necklace and one was lost.  The necklace was now incomplete; something was wrong, out of place. When she finally found the coin everything was restored as it was intended from the beginning.  The coin simply accepted its place in the necklace.  Repentance is accepting the love that God has shown us through Jesus Christ. 
You may be questioning: What about living right, doing right and living holy? That all comes after our repentance from our dead efforts and dead works.  Good works are the result of the new life we received in our restored position. 

If we should make a list of what we need to do in order to reign in life, how long would that list be? How many points would we have to write down? It is very interesting to observe the Apostle Paul’s words in Romans 5:17:

For if by the one man’s offence death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.

We reign in life through the ONE, not through the one hundred keys or formulas. And we can see that the focus is on receiving, not doing. We accept and receive the great gifts of grace and righteousness, and it will cause us to reign in life. Doing will be a fruit, but it starts with receiving. Let’s accept what He has already given to us instead of trying to work for our self-righteousness and trying to earn favor with God.

Today we bring the third and last article on the series from Luke 15. Peter Youngren teaches on how we need to come to the place of “accepting our acceptance.” This is a great revelation from the story of the prodigal son. We also start a new series by Archbishop David Huskins on Real Change. It is the first time we have had teaching articles from him in GGN, and we believe it will be a great blessing. A testimony from him is also included.

Part 2 of a series from Luke 15. What is actually sin? Is it to break the Law of Moses – or has Jesus a different view?

The word “sin” means to “miss the mark.” That’s a rather vague definition, which leads to an immediate follow up question: What is the mark?

The “god police”
For the Pharisees the mark was the Law of Moses, plus all the other rules they had added on. To them, sin was to break the Law. The Pharisees saw themselves as God’s representatives with a twofold task: informing society at large about God’s commandments and seeking to enforce obedience to the Law and judgment on those who were considered lawbreakers. The Pharisees were a “god police” dutifully condemning sinners and being angry with tax collectors. The older brother in Luke 15 is a picture of the Pharisees. He describes the rules his younger brother has broken, while the father never mentions them.

A Broken Relationship
Jesus viewed sin in a completely different way. To Him, sin was not a broken rule but a broken relationship – a refusal to enter the fellowship of love we were created for. When the prodigal son insisted on his part of the inheritance now, it was as if he had wished for his father’s death, and in the Middle-Eastern culture this was a scandal beyond compare. To add further insult to injury, the son then spent his inheritance in a “far off country,” thereby demonstrating before the entire village that he wanted nothing whatsoever to do with his father. He was creating his own life as far away from home as possible. What was the sin of the prodigal? A broken relationship.

This is a mirror picture of Adam’s sin, the original sin. Adam wanted to find his own way instead of trusting the God who loved him. He listened to the serpent, took matters in his own hands, tried to lift himself to a higher level to improve his own situation, and become “more like God.” This is the essence of sin: distrust. Adam trusted his own ability rather than His loving God.

After Adam fell into sin, he pulled himself away from God once more. There are those who claim that God is so holy that He cannot look upon sin. This is an outright lie. God graciously and immediately approached Adam after he had sinned. God did not pull away - Adam withdrew from God.

A couple of chapters later in the Book of Genesis, after Cain had murdered Abel, God comes to Cain and protects him. Again it is Cain who withdraws from God’s presence, not vice versa, because God has never turned His back on a sinner – God is the friend of sinners.

Finally, and inevitably, things turned to the worse for the prodigal son, because the wages of sin is always death. He found himself in a famine, and then among the pigs – the very worst that can happen to a Jew. When he called out, “I’m no longer worthy to be called your son,” these were not words of repentance. He was merely stating the obvious. The prodigal knew very well the customs of the day – the village considered him unworthy and could not accept his return. Furthermore, the father could not welcome a son who had humiliated his own dad before all the people. The inhabitants of the village would spit on the prodigal and demand penance. According to custom, their duty and the father’s duty was to keep him accountable for his actions.

To the prodigal son, sin was a matter of wrong behaviour, and now he wanted to correct his prior actions. “Let me become as one of your servants,” he said. Notice, he did not want closeness to his father. No, the same sin that pulled him far away is still keeping him back at a “safe” distance from his father. The prodigal still wants to take matters in his own hands, pay back what he owes, work as a servant, live among the servants, and slowly make right what he has wronged – one step at a time. He is still a self-made, self-righteous man ready to fix his failures by trying again.

“He came to himself.”  But that does not mean salvation, because repentance does not happen when we come to ourselves. It only happens when we come to the Father; back to the love we were created for. The father saw sin for what it really is – a broken relationship. The son had broken relationship and removed himself from the father’s house to find an alternate purpose for his life.

A Restored Relationship
If sin is merely breaking rules and commandments, then the Christian life becomes our attempt at keeping the commandments. On the contrary, if sin is a broken relationship with God, then the Christian life is a restored relationship with God, a new life in Christ.

If our religion is about rules, our God will be a judge who decides who is doing best, who gets second place, third place, and who is completely disqualified.

Sin is something much deeper - a broken relationship between God and people. Jesus came to be the world’s Saviour; to restore every person into this fellowship of love.
What happens then with sin in people’s lives? Human attempt to keep the commandments eventually only leads to hypocrisy. Victory over sin, real holiness, and true sanctification is the result of a life and relationship with the God who has always loved us.

Sin can never stop the flow of God’s grace - it is God’s grace that stops sin and brings true holiness.

Most people think about how happy we will be to see Jesus Christ face to face, but have you considered how anxious He is to see you?

It was in the month of December and I was in the countryside, three hours outside Beijing, China. Temperatures were hovering around ten below zero degrees Fahrenheit. I could see my own breath in the cold air of the unheated storage room in the abandoned factory where I both slept and taught the Bible during my time in this poverty stricken community.

Fifteen people sat around me in a circle, having sneaked into the room one at a time in order to avoid detection by the police. “Aren’t you afraid of going to jail?” one of the believers asked me. “Are you?” I asked. It is illegal for Christians in China to meet together as we were doing and we all knew that. However, these believers were so hungry for Bible teaching that they would risk their very lives to attend this Bible study.

An old lady singing to Jesus
I had taught for thirteen hours that day. Now it was the end of the day. We had been praying and the Christians with me had been singing Chinese hymns, offering praise to God for His goodness. There was a lull in the room as people prayed silently when an 87 year old woman began to sing alone.

I had spoken to her earlier through my translator and knew her personal story. She and her husband had been separated during a war in China over thirty years earlier. As Japanese and Chinese soldiers fought all around her, she hid in the corner of a building. Friends around her were being killed, but the soldiers all brushed past her, seeming not to notice she was there.

Finally the shooting stopped and the soldiers all left. She said that her immediate thought was, “There must be a God because there is no other explanation for why I survived what just happened. I want to know this God.” Ten years passed before she heard about an underground church service near where she lived. Taking her daughter by the hand, she said, “Let’s go to this church where we can meet this God who spared my life ten years ago.” They did go to the house church that day and there she met Jesus Christ.

Now here I was, twenty years later, sitting in an abandoned factory where one family had secretly taken up residence. I had been teaching about intimacy with Christ, but this 87 year old lady was about to make the lesson I taught even more real to me. She closed her eyes and began to sing.

It was a soft and sweet sounding song, in the Mandarin language. As she sang, tears began to stream down her wrinkled cheeks and over her radiant smile. I couldn’t understand the words she sang but I was aware that she was literally exuding the love of Jesus Christ. Suddenly, I sensed the manifest presence of God in a powerful way.

I couldn’t hold back my tears and, as I looked around the room, I saw the others were crying too. I looked back at this saint who now appeared to be in a world of her own, seemingly oblivious to our presence in the room. It was obvious – she was not singing for us. She was singing to Jesus.

“Every day He is looking forward to my coming,”

In a few moments, she finished her song and a holy hush lingered in the room. She paused for a moment and then opened her eyes and looked at me. “Every day He is looking forward to my coming,” she said with wet cheeks and an angelic smile. I felt like a little boy who was being taught a lesson that he had never heard. Looking through teary eyes, I smiled and simply nodded.

Jesus is anxious to meet His bride “He is looking forward to my coming.” Have you ever thought of it in those terms? Most people think about how happy we will be to see Jesus Christ face to face, but have you considered how anxious He is to see you? We are called the bride of Christ in the New Testament. One day He will come again and we will be united with Him in an eternal marriage. Jesus said,

I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also (John 14:2-3).

One day we will hear a resounding invitation echoing through the universe, “The Bridegroom is coming! Come out to meet Him!” (See Matthew 25:6) In that moment, you will see the One whose passion for you was so great that He thought it better to die than to live without you.

The Gospel is all about God coming to us, incarnated in a human body, to redeem us forever - for us to spend all eternity together with him. His heart goes out to everyone, and he desires a loving relationship with all mankind.

The way to a restored relationship with him is so simple: all one need to do is to believe and respond to his loving invitation. Jesus said “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matth. 11:28) He also said, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” John 7:37-38.

Jesus spoke to people who were in a religion full of commandments and requirements. He knew it was a burden for them and now offered them a new life of rest. We can rest in the finished work of Jesus Christ. We can be refreshed by the living waters installed in our hearts. We can minister at rest assured that He who lives in us will produce the results.

Today we bring you two articles, by Peter Youngren and Steve McVey. They speak about our love relationship with God and how God desires us to trust him. We believe you will be blessed as you study the teachings.

It is a joy to welcome you to this issue of Global Grace News teaching letter. The two articles both look at the amazing New Covenant.
It almost seems to be a too good deal: the New Covenant Jesus has made for us where He Himself stands as the guarantor on our behalf. Study the articles carefully, and allow the Holy Spirit to bring revelation and establish a deep and strong security in your personal life and ministry.
Your covenant with God is not based on yourself and your own efforts but is entirely based on Jesus and what He did on the cross. Our faith is in the Grace of God and the finished work of Jesus Christ.
I will also take this opportunity to welcome leaders from D.R. Congo and Rwanda, and all the rest of you who are with us for the first time. It is our great privilege to stay connected with you, and our desire is that this GGN teaching resource will be used by God to strengthen and continue to equip you for the important work you are doing.
We would love to hear from you, via .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Both praise reports related to the teaching articles and questions concerning the teachings are welcome. Also be aware that there are some questions and answers available on the http://www.globalgracenews.org website.

God made a covenant with Abram and promised great blessing to Abram and his descendants. The New Covenant is the fulfillment of the covenant with Abram. How can we benefit from the New Covenant? And what is our part?

You are a beneficiary of the New Covenant.  What does that mean?  Well, to begin, consider something that may be a little more familiar to us at this point in time: a will (testament) of a parent (let’s say a father for this example).

When a father makes out his will, he declares his desire for what should be done with his possessions after he passes away.  Perhaps a son is given the house, a daughter is given the vehicle… any combination is possible according to what the father possesses.  Also, the will cannot be modified without the consent of the father.

Even in the natural world, a covenant (testament) cannot be added to or taken away from.

I have just used what to our minds today is a very natural example.  But did you know that the Apostle Paul used the same example to illustrate the New Covenant? Consider Galatians 3 where Paul is calling the Galatians’ attention back to the perfection of the New Covenant that has been established between God and people in Jesus:

“Brethren, I speak in the manner of men:  Though it is only a man’s covenant, yet if it is confirmed, no one annuls or adds to it” (Galatians 3:15).

What is Paul saying?  Even in the natural world, a covenant (testament) cannot be added to or taken away from.  How much more then the New Covenant? It is God’s idea; God’s initiative; God’s doing.  It cannot be added to or taken away from.  My friend, this is important for us to know.

God’s Covenant Partner

Paul was writing to the Galatians who were attempting to improve their standing before God by their own performance.  Somehow they had been deceived into thinking they needed to perform certain religious deeds in order to maintain the covenant, or to receive more value from the covenant.  Paul’s emphatic response to this thinking is, “No, No, No!!!”

Be encouraged today, my friend.  God has not removed any of the benefits that have come to you in Jesus, nor is there any room for improvement in the New Covenant.  What is there room for?  More recognition of Jesus. He is faithful in the covenant (even though we are not always so); His faithfulness counts for us; and because He is faithful, the New Covenant is unbreakable.

Perhaps there have been times in your life as a believer when you were convinced that God was displeased with you.  Like many people who have been trapped by religion that is based solely on the Old Testament, maybe you had even come to a place in your thinking where you believed your failures had given God a suitable reason for leaving you, excluding you from His family, or removing His blessing from your life and ministry.

Please read these words carefully: Your failures and unfaithfulness do not change God’s opinion of you, nor do they violate the New Covenant, causing you to be disqualified from God’s goodness.  If you desire to partake of the benefits of the New Covenant by trusting in Jesus, you are always welcome to do so.

You are not God’s covenant partner.  The Man Christ Jesus is God’s covenant partner.

Now, is it true that a covenant requires faithfulness? Certainly.  And is it true that in the biblical accounts of covenant there were serious consequences for people who violated a covenant? Yes, that is true.  So then, how is it possible that your unfaithfulness to God does not result in Him rejecting you as a covenant partner?  Answer:  You are not God’s covenant partner.  The Man Christ Jesus is God’s covenant partner.  He is never unfaithful to the covenant.  His perfection is ever-present before God (Hebrews 9:24).  And because you are in Him (Romans 6:11; Ephesians 1 & 2; Colossians 2:9-13), your failures do not appear before God.  Instead, Christ’s perfection and faithfulness appear before God on your behalf.  Praise the Lord!

God’s Covenant with Abram

Let’s continue this study of covenant for a minute or two.  The New Covenant is the fulfillment of the covenant God made with Abram long ago.  Yes, there was the time of the Mosaic (Old) Covenant.  But we are told in Galatians 3:17-26 that the Mosaic Covenant, referred to as “the law,” ended when Jesus came and it did not annul the covenant that was previously made by God with Abram and his seed.  God did not replace His covenant with Abram.  Rather, the law was given to show Israel, and all people, that it is not possible for us to benefit from God’s goodness by human effort or merit.  From the very beginning of our lives, we are “confined… under sin” (Galatians 3:22), and only by God’s mercy and grace can we receive the benefits of His promises.  God, of course, knew that from the beginning.  So in establishing His covenant with Abram and his seed, God’s grace for all generations was already at work.

Do you remember the story of God confirming the covenant with Abram and his seed? God had promised great blessing to Abram and his descendants (Genesis 12:2-3; 15:1-6).  I like to say it this way:  God promised to empower Abram and his descendants to be well and do well for their own good and for the good of all people.  My friend, that is God’s provision for you today too:  He has made provision for you to be empowered to be well and do well for your own good and for the good of other people through you.  Praise the Lord again!

So how will this occur in our lives?  We have already seen that a covenant demands faithfulness.  And we have seen that, in things pertaining to God, human effort is futile and clearly shows that all of us are nothing but unfaithful.  How then can anyone benefit from God’s covenant?  I alluded to the answer earlier: In establishing His covenant with Abram and his seed, God’s grace for all generations was already at work.

In Genesis 15:8-21, we read the account of God confirming His covenant with Abram, who clearly was familiar with the formalities of ancient covenant.  Abram prepared animal carcasses for the covenant ceremony, thus creating a path of blood between the carcasses.  Such a path of blood was the place through which the participants in an ancient covenant would pass as they made promises to each other and pronounced curses that would arise if someone broke the covenant. 

But after Abram had everything prepared, God caused a change that was essential for the security of the covenant. 

Before we continue with the story, be reminded of a few things:  A covenant is made between two or more parties; a covenant demands faithfulness; Abram was a sinner from birth, just like every other person born in Adam’s lineage.
Clearly, God could not depend on Abram.  Now, back to the story in Genesis 15.

Jesus, the Seed, was present when God confirmed the covenant of which Abram and his descendants would be the beneficiaries.

Everything was ready for the covenant to be confirmed.  But at the last minute, God made the crucial change:  He put Abram to sleep (v.12).  What does this mean?  Abram would be a beneficiary of the covenant without bearing the responsibility for the security of the covenant.

Who then would be responsible?  A covenant must have more than one party.  God is present.  Abram is asleep.  Is there only one participant?  No.  According to Galatians 3, everything is fine even while Abram is asleep because:

“to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made.  He does not say, ‘And to seeds,’ as of many, but as of one, ‘And to your Seed,’ who is Christ.”  And this I say, that the law, which was four hundred and thirty years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ, that it should make the promise of no effect” (Galatians 3:16-17).

Jesus is the Seed

Did you see that?  Jesus is the Seed to whom the promises were made, and the covenant was confirmed by God in Christ.  Jesus, the Seed, was present when God confirmed the covenant of which Abram and his descendants would be the beneficiaries.  We can now see this even in Genesis 15.  While Abram was asleep “there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces” (v.17). Not one, but two things appeared and passed through the blood of the covenant.  God was present.  The Seed of Abraham, whom we now know as Jesus Christ, was present.  The covenant was confirmed, and it is forever secure for Abram, for you and for me, because the continuation of the covenant does not depend on you or me, it depends only on Jesus.  He is faithful, He is unchanging.  He is God, and He is human.  In Him there is faithfulness on God’s part, and in Him there is faithfulness on humanity’s part.  The New Covenant in the Lord Jesus Christ is THE UNBREAKABLE COVENANT!

the continuation of the covenant does not depend on you or me, it depends only on Jesus.

What then do we do? Consider Jesus in every aspect of life, and respond accordingly to Him.  He leads us in godly living. He inspires us in faith.  His healing power, His strength and His abilities are manifested in our bodies.  His love and kindness are heard in our words and seen in our actions.

Jesus is faithful.  Jesus is unchanging.  Jesus is the One in whom the New Covenant is forever perfect and secure.  You are in Him.  What does that make you? The recipient of every good thing found in God’s will, and a vessel of His love and power through whom He is made known to the people around you. 

You are empowered to be well and do well for your own good and to the glory of God.  And as a minister of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus, you are empowered to help other people be well and do well.

The Pharisees’ relationship with God was based on a religious contract of “dos” and “don’ts”. And the Pharisees were proud because of their seeming ability to keep the religious contract.  In Luke 15 Jesus shows that the Pharisees had totally misunderstood who God really is.

Luke 15 is love’s declaration of war against self-righteous religion.  The well-known parables of the good shepherd, the woman who lost her coin, and the father and his two sons constitute Jesus’ response to the attacks from indignant Pharisees.  We read, “Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them…” (Luke 15:1-2)
Verse 2 summarizes the entire gospel:  God receives sinners and has fellowship with them.  This is our fantastic message that regrettably is heard all too seldom.

“Sinners” were those who did not live up to the standard taught in the synagogue.  Tax collectors were worse than regular sinners, rejected by the Pharisees and despised by the general population. They were Jews employed by the Romans for the purpose of collecting taxes from Jews - wealthy citizens who stole money without being held accountable for their criminal activities.  These were the “scum” of society, hated to the degree that there is maybe no parallel today.  The zealots were a religious group who saw it as an act of worship toward God to murder a tax collector.

Jesus was fellowshipping with sinners and tax collectors to show what was His actual ministry: “to seek and to save that which was lost.”

Here we see Jesus having a celebratory meal with the most despised people you can imagine. To eat with somebody was not as we may see it - just a quick lunch or a cup of coffee.  No, according to the Middle Eastern custom it was a way to have fellowship, to show acceptance and solidarity, to embrace another person. The Amplified Bible’s translation of the first two verses of Luke 15 reads, “Now the tax collectors and [notorious and [a]especially wicked] sinners were all coming near to [Jesus] to listen to Him. And the Pharisees and the scribes kept muttering and indignantly complaining, saying, This man accepts and receives and welcomes [preeminently wicked] sinners and eats with them.” (Luke 15:1-2 Amp)
Why did Jesus have fellowship with sinners and tax collectors?  We could conclude that Jesus didn’t have sufficient wisdom to understand that such an association would negatively influence His ministry.  On the contrary, since Jesus was full of wisdom we realize that Jesus was fellowshipping with sinners and tax collectors to show what was His actual ministry: “to seek and to save that which was lost.”

War against religiosity

The parable about the good shepherd who sought the lost sheep, the woman who found the lost silver coin and the father who welcomed his lost son home was more than an answer to the questions of the Pharisees: it was a declaration of war against everything that was known as religiosity.  Jesus and the Pharisees were on a collision course concerning who God really is. 

Jesus and the Pharisees were on a collision course concerning who God really is.

Through Jesus we see God’s heart fully revealed.  Jesus said, “No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.”  (John 1:18)  The contrast is razor sharp: Jesus versus the Pharisees, the heart of God contra the mindset of religion. 
To better understand Jesus’ message we must first know something about the Pharisees.  They were a spiritual movement based on the Holy Scriptures: the Torah, Psalms and the Prophets.  They looked upon themselves as representatives of God’s will on earth.  Jesus could have been born some seventy-five years earlier, but then the Pharisees would have just been in the beginning of their movement.  God saw to it that Jesus came at a time when the Pharisees were at the top of their influence.  It seems to have been God’s intent that the gospel of grace would confront the pharisaical attitudes.  The Pharisees only knew a God of demands and Jesus had come to show them God who is love, even until death. 

The Pharisees only knew a God of demands and Jesus had come to show them God who is love, even until death.

Jesus’ reference to the bosom of the Father refers to the time before time began when Jesus shared the joy and love in the Holy Trinity.  Church fathers used to call this “perichoresis,” loosely translated a circle, a dance of love where God the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit lived in an eternal, mutual love.  God is love and has always been found in this love. 
God did not create people because He was lonely but so that this full fellowship of love would be shared by people.  In Adam humans walked away from this love but in Christ we are restored to it. 

Jesus’ behavior in Luke 15 shows us the Father’s love towards sinners, but it was also offensive to everything the Pharisees saw as holy.  How could the Messiah have fellowship with sinners?  God is, after all, holy and cannot have anything to do with sinners, so they thought, and so many still think.

Contract or Covenant?

For the Pharisees, their relationship with God was based on a religious contract of “dos” and “don’ts”; and that too seems to be true for many today.

A contract is about two or several parties who make an agreement where they commit themselves to live up to certain obligations.  A contract has nothing to do with love or trust, but rather it points to the opposite: to demands and possibilities of taking one another to court.  The Pharisees were proud because of their seeming ability to keep the religious contract better than the world around them.  Their life was about performing spiritual merits and their joy was in the fact that they were better at it than others.  They were on a higher level than “sinners and tax collectors.”  That’s the way it is in all religions.

Luke 15 reveals the covenant of love: God’s love given to us freely and without pay.

The religious contract becomes a mirror where we view both self and others.  In the story about the Pharisee who prayed at the front of the temple, we read that he prayed “within himself.” Even his prayer life had become a sort of theatre; a mirror where he showed his own ability compared with those who were “less” holy. 
Luke 15 reveals the covenant of love: God’s love given to us freely and without pay.  God is the God of the covenant and His covenant is always connected to people like Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – frail and faulty individuals invited into God’s covenant of love, in spite of themselves.  In Christ we become Abraham’s children, graciously embraced into the dance of love.

The word “covenant” is key to our understanding of God. Before I understood God’s grace as I do today I used to think of a covenant as a contract. We are all familiar with various kinds of contracts, and they all involve benefits as well as dangers. If either party breaks the contract there is a strong possibility of conflicts and even lawsuits. A successful contract depends on equal parties that are all capable of living up to their responsibilities.

A covenant has nothing to do with a contract. It is the bestowal of God’s favour to us through Jesus Christ, not due to our ability to live up to a contracted obligation. Religion is all about contracts. If you do such and such, then God will respond in a commensurate way.

The Gospel on the other hand is grace freely given long before we ever responded to God, not due to any effort of our own, but simply contingent on Christ’s finished work 2000 years ago.

The church needs to discover the Gospel Covenant!

Once the church knows the Good News, the world will know it also.

Many Christians are stressed-out, and Jesus’ rest may seem so far away. Is it really possible to enter into this rest that Jesus gave us?

We, who are in this New Covenant that God has given us through Jesus Christ, have available to us the opportunity to live a restful, stress-free life with God.  For many people this truth seems so far away because of the chaos in and around their lives.  Jesus still brings peace to the storms of life.  There is a genuine, tangible rest for the people of God!  Unbelief brings stress and restlessness but believing in the finished work of Christ brings rest.
Hebrews 4:1-4 – “Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.  For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works.”

There is a genuine, tangible rest for the people of God!

The Kingdom of Heaven is Ours

Our life with the Lord should be restful and not storm-tossed with the winds of adversity blowing us in all directions.  We can live and operate in an atmosphere where we have ceased from our own works (Heb. 4:9) and know that every promise of God is ours because Christ fulfilled every requirement and sat down at God’s right hand.  We can say with confidence that we know in whom we have believed and are persuaded that He is able to keep that which we have committed unto Him (2 Timothy 1:12). 
The kingdom of heaven is ours through Christ – it has been given to us.

2 Peter 1:3 – “According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue.”  Our God is a good God and He has given us every good thing required for life and godliness through Christ Jesus.  We have wisdom, peace, righteousness, and all the exceedingly precious promises in the Bible bestowed on us.

Run the Race Without Getting Tired

Hebrews 4:11 – “Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.”  There are many stressed-out people in Christianity who have failed to understand and grasp that when we have Jesus, we have everything!  Jesus is with us every minute of every day and He is enough for our tomorrows and the future ahead of us.  Some people need to have hands laid on them with a word of prophecy, but we need to believe in the Jesus in each of us – the one who will never leave or forsake us! 

Some people need to have hands laid on them with a word of prophecy, but we need to believe in the Jesus in each of us

Isaiah 40:29-31 – “He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: 31 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”  There is a place where we can run the race set before us without getting tired and faint-hearted.  In 1 Corinthians 15:10 Paul states that he “laboured more abundantly than they all” but it was the “grace of God which was with me.”  His approach to ministry was in a place of rest where the work was enabled by the Lord.  Jesus completed the “works which the Father hath given me to finish” (John 5:36).  He said and did what the Father told and gave Him to do and rested on that reality.  He knew the path the Father had for Him to follow and rested in the outcome of everything laid before Him.

Yoked With the Lord

Ephesians 2:10 – “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”  We need to be going forward in the things that are prepared for us.  We need to be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit and stay in the plan of the Father.  Give everything we are and have to the Lord and He will guide us without the stress and indecisiveness of our own making.  If we don’t have the assurance to move ahead in a decision, don’t move!  Jesus is Lord of our lives and we need to be listening to what He is saying.

Give everything we are and have to the Lord and He will guide us without the stress and indecisiveness of our own making.

Matthew 11:28-30 – “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.  30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” The Christian life was intended to be a restful, stress-free life.  There is no room for burnout in ministry and serving the Lord.  When we are truly working for Jesus, we can never get burned-out because we are not operating in our own efforts.  We are doing the work that the Lord has prepared for us; the work He has laid out for us.  What a difference when we are yoked with the Lord – He is the one who pulls the heavy load, not us!  This is the stress-free, abundant life that Jesus came to give.  The answer to stress is this:  Come and learn of me!

How it is that we are to “abide in Christ”

When I wrote my first book, Grace Walk, in 1995 there were things I said then that I’d say differently today. Things I think I could have made clearer. The topic of abiding in Christ is one of those subjects.

I wrote a lot in the book about the importance of abiding in Christ. My jumping off place for that was the words of Jesus in John 15:4 where Jesus said, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.” The metaphor Jesus used was the vine and the branches, with the point being that our only role is to “hang out” with Him and depend on Him to be the One who produces whatever fruit comes through our lives.

The paradox

He will show us when to act and what to do when it’s time to do it.

Over the past 15 years, many people have asked me exactly how it is that we are to “abide in Christ.” It’s a good question that deserves an answer. The paradox in telling people to abide in Christ is that they may think there’s something they need to do for that to happen. The reason it’s a paradox is because the very idea of abiding in Christ moves us away from doing something to a place of rest, trusting that He’s the One who does what needs to be done.

Simply put, to abide in Christ means one thing: to relax and trust His indwelling Life to motivate and mobilize our actions. It means to know that it’s not up to us to make something happen. It means to trust Him and stop worrying about ourselves. In fact, it means to take our eyes off ourselves and just look at Him, knowing that there’s nothing we have to do and that He will show us when to act and what to do when it’s time to do it. It’s a life of rest.

The irony of it all is that we really can’t do anything but abide in Christ. After all, our very life is found in Him. So there’s a sense in which we abide at every moment no matter what. To be told to “abide” simply means to recognize the reality of our union with Him and to give up any silly notions we may have that we have anything to contribute to this arrangement.

Fruit doesn’t struggle

to “abide” simply means to recognize the reality of our union with Him

Fruit on the vine doesn’t struggle to grow, to be tasty or anything else. It just hangs there and the nutrients from the earth come up through the vine into the branches and the fruit is the natural (actually, it’s supernatural) result. That’s how it is when we understand abiding in Jesus Christ.

Don’t sweat it. Just take your hands off your own life; off your circumstances and your challenges and your self effort and your attempt to navigate your present life and design your future. He has it all under control. So just relax and say, “thank you very much” and when you’ve done that, you are abiding in the active sense of the word.

A certain thought has stayed with me these last weeks: Don’t turn the promises of God into requirements! Don’t turn the wonderful promises of who God is in our lives into requirements that we have to fulfil in our own strength.

The Old Covenant contained a lot of requirements that the Jews had to fulfil in order to be blessed. In the New Covenant there are also instructions concerning our lifestyle, but there is a huge difference. Now it is GOD who works in us both to will and to do according to His good pleasure (Phil 2:13). Christ in us, the hope of glory. When Paul and others gave instructions to born-again believers, He often emphasized that it was possible because we have a new nature and the love of God has been poured out in our hearts and God is working in our lives through the Holy Spirit.

Paul describes the new life that we now can live, not as a requirement to be accepted by God, but as a fruit of the new life in us. Let us keep our focus right, and keep remembering that Christ in us is the solution.

This truth also applies to areas like Guidance of the Holy Spirit and faith. Both are wonderful promises from God, so let us not turn them into a burden and something we have to try to achieve.

Enjoy the Christmas Season and know that Jesus came to be our life – and abundance of life.

Let’s get these covenants separated. That simple step will make a world of difference in understanding our Bible.

Over three weeks, I’ve been sharing a three-part series of teachings on the “Sunday Preaching” broadcast called, “Two Covenants, Not One.” For many years, I stayed confused when I read the Bible because I didn’t understand this simple aspect of understanding the Scripture. The Old and New Covenants are very different from each other in many ways. God told those in the Old Covenant that a day was going to come when He would make a new covenant with His people and it would not be like the covenant He had made with them through their Fathers. (See Jeremiah 31:31-32) Through Jesus Christ, that day came to us so that now the covenant He has made is totally different - not at all the same. It’s new and, according to Hebrews 8:13, the old one is “obsolete.” It has passed away. It’s gone, expired, finished, over!

Isn’t the Old Testament God’s Word?

This fact is a sticking point in many people’s minds. “Isn’t the Old Testament God’s Word?” they will ask? Of course the Old Testament is as much a part of the Bible as the New Testament, but here’s a key that will help us immeasurably when we understand it. The Old Testament was not written to us! It was written for us, but not to us. (See Romans 15:4) There’s a big difference. That’s why the Apostle Paul cautioned Timothy to take great care to ensure that he would “rightly divide the word of truth” when he taught the Bible. (See 2 Timothy 2:15) All kinds of trouble are created in our minds and lives when we don’t do that.

The Old Testament was not written to us! It was written for us, but not to us.

First of all, the Law was never even given to the Gentiles. It was given to Israel. Consider these texts:

These are the statutes, the ordinances, and the laws that the Lord gave between Himself and the children of Israel on Mount Sinai, by the hand of Moses (Leviticus 26:46).

He tells His words to Jacob, His statutes and His judgments to Israel. He did not do so to any nation … (Psalm 147:19-20).

For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves. . . (Romans 2:14).

The New and the Old don’t mix!

Christians today put themselves in a confusing cycle of condemnation when they try to apply an Old Covenant mentality to understanding the Bible. The New and the Old don’t mix!

Christians today put themselves in a confusing cycle of condemnation when they try to apply an Old Covenant mentality to understanding the Bible.

Example: Do you believe your heart is desperately wicked and deceitful above all things? If you do, it’s because you’ve failed to “rightly divide the word.” God had Jeremiah tell the people that “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked” (Jeremiah 17:9) but in Romans 5:5 Paul said that “the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts.” Which is true? They both are! It was true when Jeremiah said it to those to whom He spoke in the Old Covenant and Paul’s words are true for we who live under the New Covenant! Do you see the confusion that happens when we fail to make the distinction between the covenants? There are many biblical texts like that. When we read the Bible, we need to ask ourselves, “Who is speaking? To whom is he speaking? When is He speaking?” These are basic questions that will settle a lot of confusion in reading the Bible.

When does the New Covenant start?

Remember this: The new covenant doesn’t start at Matthew 1:1. It starts at the death of Jesus. The importance of this fact can’t be overstated. Hebrews 9:16 says, “For where a testament is, there must of necessity be the death of him that made it.” In other words, a Last Will & Testament means nothing until the person who wrote it dies. That’s important even when we read the New Testament pages.

Remember this: The new covenant doesn’t start at Matthew 1:1. It starts at the death of Jesus.

For instance, you’ll get yourself into a world of confusion if you try to apply the Sermon on the Mount to yourself. Remember that Jesus hadn’t died when He spoke those words. He was talking to them, not you. They were a group of people who thought they could gain righteousness by their moral living so Jesus showed them just how impossible that is. He said things like, “If you lust, gouge your eye out. If you steal, cut your hand off.” So here’s the question: Do you really believe that’s what you’re supposed to do? “Of course not!” a critic might respond, “It was obvious He didn’t really mean that!” Wait, a minute. If you claim that we’re supposed to do everything Jesus said, you can’t take that cop-out. The Bible isn’t a menu you can choose from.

The importance of rightly dividing the covenants

The fact is that if we don’t rightly divide the covenants, we will end up treating the Bible like a buffet where we take the things we like but leave the things we don’t like. That’s no way to treat the Scripture. Better to respect the Scripture enough to accurately interpret it instead. No, Jesus wasn’t telling you to pluck your eye out. He wasn’t even talking to you.

One more example: Jesus said that if we don’t forgive people who have offended us, then God won’t forgive those who don’t forgive. (See Matthew 6:14-15) Do you really think that’s for you? Do you honestly believe that it’s possible that you’ve trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior, walked with Him, known and loved Him, trusted in His finished work on the cross and now, if it should happen that somebody offends you and you die before you’ve forgiven them that you won’t be forgiven? Anybody who even slightly uses common sense knows that can’t be right!

What’s the answer? The answer is that Jesus spoke those words before the cross - before the inauguration of the New Covenant. Notice how everything changed after the cross.

Ephesians 4:32: “Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you”. Notice here that we forgive because we have already been forgiven, not so we can get it.

What does Colossians 3:13 teach is our motivation to forgive others? “... bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.”

See how everything changes with the end of the Old Covenant and the beginning of the New?

Let’s get our covenants separated. That simple step will make a world of difference in understanding our Bible.

If you want to hear the whole teaching (series), check out http://www.gracewalkresources.com or http://www.gracewalk.org. It’s part three in this series, called “Two Covenants, Not One.” 

What are the enormous consequences of Calvary for us? Have we realized what happened when we died and resurrected together with Jesus?

The mystery of the cross is that Christ identified Himself with us, and we became one with Him. By Him becoming one with us, taking our place, carrying our sin, punishment, blame, and judgment, we could identify ourselves with Him, becoming one with His righteousness, victory, liberty, and holiness. Look at what the Word says:
“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Cor. 5:21)

He became one with our sin, so that we might become one with Him in righteousness.

“For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.” (Rom. 6:5-6)

By His death and resurrection we are dead and resurrected. We are dead to sin, and alive to God. Everything happened because Jesus became one with us in such a way that we died with Him and rose with Him.

The consequences of Calvary are enormous!

Jesus took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses, so that we could receive His health (Matt. 8:17).

Jesus became poor, that we through His poverty might become rich (2 Cor. 8:9).

By the cross of Christ the world was crucified to us, and we to the world (Gal. 6:14).

The consequences of Calvary are enormous!

The Effect of Redemption

Let us take some time and look into the redemption and what happens with us as we are identified with Jesus.

Dead to Sin, Alive to God
Jesus has taken away the sins of the world in such a way that the sins are gone, purged. But man would still be miserable if the sinner was not taken away as well. As a sinner one lives a life in sin and is constantly producing new sins. With Jesus as Lord and Savior this would be a frustrating existence. So God’s solution to this is fundamental in the Gospel. The message is that we “died to sin” when we “died with Christ.”

“Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.” (Rom. 6:6)

Jesus has not only dealt with sin, He has also killed the sinner.

This is good news! Jesus has not only dealt with sin, He has also killed the sinner. In Him we are new creations with the nature of God within us. We cannot sin, because we have been born of God (1 John 3:9).

This is the fundamental message concerning this issue. However, the Bible teaches that “babes in Christ” are still fleshly, and that Christians can still sin. John deals with this matter, and how it shall be handled, in the first chapter of his first letter. But this must not take the sting out of the message in Rom. 6:1-11, 1 John 3:9 and 5:18, and 1 Pet. 4:1-2.

Rom. 6:11 says that we should reckon ourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Peter says that we have ceased from sin (1 Pet. 4:1), and on this specific issue Jesus emphasizes that “if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed” (John 8:32-36).

Free From the Law
In Christ the Jews died to the Law, and Christ is the end of the Law. The purpose of the Law is fulfilled, and we are free, together with the born-again Jews.

Only the one liberated from the law, is liberated from sin.

This liberty from the Law is a must to be able to live in freedom from sin:
“For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” (Rom. 6:14)

“Only the one liberated from the law, is liberated from sin.” 

Not Under Curse, But Under The Blessings of Abraham
Some people are concerned about the curse of the Law. But we have never been under the Law, and therefore not under the curse of it either. And the fantastic, liberating message is also that the Jews are free. “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us.” (Gal. 3:13)

Some people are concerned about the curse of the Law. But we have never been under the Law, and therefore not under the curse of it either.

The redemption breaks the yoke of poverty and sickness, and instead it leads us into the blessings of Abraham.

He Became Poor for Us to Be Made Rich
“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.” (2 Cor. 8:9)

The context of this verse is an offering exhortation. Paul is challenging them to give, and is reminding them of the fantastic thing, that Jesus – who was richer than any – became poor for our sakes. On the cross He was robbed from everything. He was poor, homeless, hungry, naked, and thirsty for our sakes, so that we might become rich.

God wanted us to always have all sufficiency in all things, and have abundance for every good work (2 Cor. 9:8).

He declares that “all things are ours!” This is a result of the redemption on the cross. These are side effects of us being declared righteous.

He Bore Our Sicknesses, for Us to Be Healthy
“He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses.” (Matt. 8:17)

The prophecy that is quoted in Matt. 8:17 is from Isaiah 53:4-5:
“Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.” (Is. 53:4-5)

This gospel about healing is more than intercession and the laying on of hands, even though this has its rightful place in the ministry of the saints. The redemption is the foundation for a life in health, a life of freedom from sickness and diseases.

This corresponds to the promise given in Ex. 23:25-26, which says: “And I will take sickness away from the midst of you” and ” I will fulfill the number of your days.”

Health and a long life are the results of Calvary!

Crucified To the World
“But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” (Gal. 6:14)

The world has been crucified to me. What does it mean?
Calvary was a judgment of this world and the ruler of this world (John 12:31). The world was judged and the ruler of this world was judged. The world was doomed to come to an end, and the ruler of this world was doomed to be damned forever.

This lets me relate to “the form of this world” in a totally new way. In reality the word “world” here can be translated “age.” The spirit who is at work in the children of unbelief is bankrupt. It still keeps its doors open, but we are free from its attraction and deception. The world is crucified to us.

The spirit who is at work in the children of unbelief is bankrupt.

But it gets even stronger knowing that we are crucified to the world! The world is still very active, even if it is declared bankrupt, and has no future. But when we at the same time are crucified to the world, it makes us free from its dominion. The ruler of this world is not a ruler in my world, because we have been delivered from the power of darkness and conveyed into the kingdom of the Son of His love. It is Jesus who is the Lord in our world. We are moving in His Kingdom, and the ruler of this world “has nothing in us.” This is why John is saying: “We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one, and the wicked one does not touch him.” (1 John 5:18-19)

We are gloriously redeemed and we are free.  We have moved out of Egypt and away from Pharaoh and his soldiers, and we have moved into the land of Canaan, a land flowing with milk and honey.

The World Belongs To Us
It might be confusing that the Bible at the same time is saying, “The world is ours.” But the point is that we have to understand the difference between “the world” in the sense of “the spirit of this age,” and “the world” as “the earth and all its fullness.” God has redeemed us from the spirit of this age, and delivered us from the power of darkness, and the ruler of this world.

On the other hand it was God who created this world and all its fullness for His children to enjoy and have dominion over it. He did not create the resources on the earth for the devil and his children.

We are destined to reign in this life

According to Genesis 1 God wanted to give the gold, the diamonds, the fertile plants and the seed, the oil resources, and all the riches to His children.

Now, this blessing is redeemed back to us, so 1 Cor. 3:21-23 explains that everything belongs to us: the world, life and death, things present and things to come. We have been made rich in everything.

We are destined to reign in this life; we are kings and priests to our God. Christ is the head – we are the body. All things are put under His feet, meaning that the whole body is above all principality and power and might and dominion.

We In Him And He In Us

Jesus said,
“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:4-5)

This is the very essence of the revelation the Apostle Paul received. His message about who we are in Christ, and who Christ is in us is the nerve center in New Testament Christianity. The mystery that now is revealed is: “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Col. 1:27)

This identification with Christ was released in the redemption when Jesus became one with our sin, sickness and curse, and we became one with His death, burial, and resurrection.

Reality And Experience – Not Just Theory
After the Spirit came on the day of Pentecost, this became a living reality.
“At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.” (John 14:20)

“And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.” (1 John 3:24)

The experience of this living reality comes through the Holy Spirit. Our identification with Christ is as total as this:
“For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.” (Col. 3:3-4)

“Hidden with Christ in God.”
Then it is not easy for the enemy to get hold of you. He first has to get past God and Christ to find you.

This is Christianity. It is to be a Jesus person. It is to be one with Him

Take a look at the expression: “Christ, our life.” We are so one with Christ that He is our life. He is our righteousness, sanctification and redemption.
We are crucified with Christ. It is no longer we who live, but Christ lives in us (Gal. 2:20).

This is Christianity. It is to be a Jesus person. It is to be one with Him - Him speaking through our mouth, touching with our hands, and looking through our eyes.

Reinhard Bonnke experienced that when a shopkeeper of a music store fell on his knees and asked for prayer when Bonnke and his team went to a store to buy an organ. He said, “I can see Jesus in your eyes.” When Bonnke later asked the Lord about the incident, He answered, “I live in you, and sometimes I look through the window!”

We Are Like Him

We are completely one with Christ. We are in Him, and He is in us. This unity came into being by Christ coming to us. He became one with us. This started with Him becoming a human being. The incarnation was the beginning of His identification with us.

“Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil.” (Heb. 2:14)

For Him to be able to save us, He had to become like us. It was only a representative for man that could save man.

And it was only through death that He legally could enter Hades, that is the place of death, and the devil had to fight on home ground.
In this encounter between Jesus and the devil there is a lot that the wisdom of this age does not grasp, and that modern theologians do not comprehend, because this can only be spiritually discerned.

We died with Him, and in that way we died to sin, and we died to the world.

After He came down and became a man, He took the next step: He became one with our sin, sickness, and curse. This is why He had to die on a cross, because the wages of sin is death.

It was when that price was paid, that he could establish an eternal righteousness.
“For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.” (Heb. 10:14)

Dead With Him

This is where the incomprehensible thing happens: By Him becoming one with us, we became one with Him. Because He died our death, we are also reckoned as dead. We died with Him, and in that way we died to sin, and we died to the world.

Our union with Him makes Him our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. This is the message:
“For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him.” (Rom. 6:5-8)

The tradition has put a veil over the truth, and this veil needs to be taken away.

The following verses show that we are dead with Him once for all, and now we live a life where we are dead to sin, and alive to God. The message in Romans 6 is crystal clear and unmistakable. Just read it without prejudice. I think you will understand that this message has not taken root in the Christianity of today. The tradition has put a veil over the truth, and this veil needs to be taken away.

Seated With Him in Heavenly Places

Paul’s focus is on who we are in Christ, and who Christ is in us. He says that what he is laboring for is to present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. The basis is the mystery about Christ in us.

“To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.” (Col. 1:27:28)

Because this is what he focuses on in his teachings, we will come to see that Ephesians is full of it. He says in Ephesians 3:1-6 that the mystery that was made known to him is briefly written in chapters 1 and 2. Ephesians 2:4-6 is some of the most powerful writing about our identification with Christ:

“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”

Dead with Him, raised with Him, and seated together with Him in the heavenly places. We are where He is, and He is where we are.
“Because as He is, so are we in this world.” (1 John 4:17)

This is hard to receive for those who are used to the picture that tradition portrays us being poor and miserable sinners. But it is simple and glorious light for those who have started to gaze into the perfect law of liberty where the light of the gospel shines forth.

Walk In Him

Because Christ is our life, we do not need help from the law that belongs to the basic principles of the world.

Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.” (Col. 2:6-10)

It is not only the salvation, but also the “walking” that takes place in Him. Because Christ is our life, we do not need help from the law that belongs to the basic principles of the world.

“Christ is all and in all!” (Col. 3:11)
Christ is all! Then we need nothing else but Him!

The purpose of GGN is to help the Church rediscover Jesus and to take the good news to the world.

Many times the focus has been more on what we must do than on what Jesus has already done. What a wonderful truth that the New Covenant is all about Jesus’ finished work! And Jesus Himself is the Mediator and Guarantor of the New Covenant.

It reminds me of the story of Mephiboseth in 2. Samuel 9, where we can read how he was blessed entirely because of the covenant between David and Jonathan.  Mephiboseth was blessed entirely “for Jonathan’s sake” and we are blessed entirely “for Jesus’ sake”.

I recently came across an article by the late Norman Grubb and I want to share it with you all. You may find more articles from him on their website. He beautifully lays out how Christ is all and in all. Enjoy the reading of that article, as well as the continuation of the series on “Reign in life” by Pastor Mike Walker.

Thank you for all the responses you send us – we are grateful to the Lord for being connected together with all of you.

Have you ever felt that you need more love for your unsaved brothers and sisters around the world? Have you ever asked God to make you a better servant of Jesus Christ?

When I was in the British army in World War I, God very plainly called me, though I’d planned another career, to join a little independent missionary group just starting in Africa. I wasn’t there very long before I deeply felt my inadequacy.

It wasn’t that I was lukewarm for Jesus Christ; it wasn’t that I had turned away from Him to some other interest. I was a servant of His, and my whole interest was set on introducing my brother Africans to Him.

The inadequacy I felt in myself first of all was the need of love. I deeply felt, when I got among them, that I just didn’t have that love which bridges the gap. With that went the need of faith — and with that the need of power. All of these were linked together.

Response to the Christian message in Central Africa, like the United States, appears to be quite large. But I soon found there was much more profession than possession. I began saying to myself, Are we bringing the Africans anything really worthwhile? Are we just bringing a code of ethics? Or a liturgy, or historic faith? Have we got something genuinely transforming to transmit to others?

Then I made the question personal, “Have I?”

I thought He should channel in some love into my heart, some faith, some power, some holiness — and improve me.

As I asked these questions, I discovered that when your ministry is disturbed, it tends also to disturb your personal life. I found myself, as my wife well knew, irritable at home in a way I hadn’t been irritable — and critical of others to cover my own failures.

As I doubted, asked questions, and searched the Bible for some kind of an answer to my inadequacies, I found some amazing answers. Some of them have shaken me considerably. They have changed my whole viewpoint — and my experience.

I can’t call them revelations, because they are based on the revelation, witnessed to by the Spirit.

To begin with, my attitude was that God should improve me.

Well, I’m a servant of Jesus Christ, I thought. I’ve been redeemed by His grace, I belong to Him. I must ask God to make me a better servant of Jesus Christ.

I thought He should channel in some love into my heart, some faith, some power, some holiness — and improve me.

I had to learn sharply that self-improvement is both a sin and an impossibility. It came as a considerable shock.

But though my idea of how God should answer my problem was completely wrong, my sense of inadequacy was good. It sent me to the Bible. And my first discovery came as I read one famous verse in the first letter of John: “God is love.”

Suddenly the is stuck out. What dawned on me went something like this: It doesn’t say God has love, but God is love. If some body has a thing, it isn’t he himself. It’s something just attached to him, as if you’ve got a coat on or something in your pocket. You just have it, and you can share it. But the Bible doesn’t say God has love, but God is love.

I Could Never Love!

Love, therefore, must not be a thing I can have. Love is exclusively a Person. God is love. Therefore, there is no other pure, self-giving love in the universe beyond Him Himself. Love is exclusively a characteristic of one Person only — and that’s not Norman Grubb.

That was a deflation for me. I had thought I could have love imparted to me, channeled into me, and I’d be more loving. But I suddenly found God saying, “You’ll never have one iota of love. I am love, and that’s the end of it.”

Not Christ has the power, but He is the power.

Love is a Person; one Person only loving — and that’s not I, and that’s not you. God is love and, therefore, love is God loving.

That set a new trend of thought going. I began to relate this to my other need of power. And I suddenly found a verse in the first chapter of I Corinthians where it says that Christ is the power of God. Not Christ has the power, but He is the power.

Once again, I had thought power was something which was given to me, and I’d be a powerful servant of Jesus Christ. I suddenly found that power, also, is a Person. And that person is not I but is exclusively Christ, Who is God; it doesn’t matter whether you call Him Father, Son or Holy Spirit.

Then I came to the one thing every Christian claims to have. Every believing Christian accepts the fact that he has eternal life. He takes it that he has a life which will go on forever in Heaven. (“The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”)

But I suddenly found that eternal life is not something I can ever have — for Jesus did not say, “I have the life to give you” — but, “I am the life.”

Once again I had found that something I had thought I had — eternal life — is one person only, and that’s not I. Jesus Christ is that “eternal life.”

But where did I fit into all this?

Finally I came to a statement which gathered all together and finished off my investigations by its absoluteness. The verse was Colossians 3:11, where it says of believers in Christ that “Christ is all and in all.”

Christ is all, not Christ has all.

And if Christ is all, what’s left for me? Not much by my mathematics.

I had thought I was somebody, and something or could get something. I found God had taken the lot. Christ is all.

Then I got the link. Christ is all and in all.

Once again I had found that something I had thought I had — eternal life — is one person only, and that’s not I.

Then I saw for the first time that the only reason for the existence of the entire creation is to contain the Creator! Not to be something, but to contain Someone.

So there dawned a very important truth. We humans naturally regard the human self as important. But we’ve got the wrong ideas of the reason of the existence of the self.

An immense distortion has come into the very warp and woof of humanity. It’s the distortion of the ego — of the self. Though we feel self to be important, all of this showed me that self is extremely unimportant.

There is only one Self in the universe who is really important. I would almost say there is only one Self. 

Why? Because there’s only one Person in the universe who ever said, “I Am.”

there’s only one Person in the universe who ever said, “I Am.”

God said that was His name thousands of years ago when Moses asked what he should say when people would ask, “What is the name of your God?” (Exodus 3:13, 14).

We are told that at the end of the history of the universe it is God Who will be all in all. God all in all! Then what’s left? It’s terrific.

Why We Exist

There is only one Person, and the human creation is brought into a living relationship with this One, so that He can manifest Himself in His perfection of life and love through us.

The whole creation exists because Spirit must have a body in which to manifest Himself. As the Scriptures say, “The whole earth is full of His glory.” They say that Christ ascended “that He might fill all things.”

If He fills all things, all things are containers of Him.

If He fills all things, all things are containers of Him. Here is both the height and the dangerous depth in humanity.

The height is simply this: the rest of creation can contain manifestations of God; we can contain God as a Person. A person cannot manifest himself as a person through anything else than a person. You can’t fellowship with a dog or a stone. You can enjoy the marvels of the atom or of a precious stone, but you can’t fellowship with it. But I can fellowship with you because we are of the same makeup.

God can manifest His marvels and His beauty through the flowers and trees. We can view them through the microscope and telescope, and marvel—but we do not say, “That’s God.”

The greatest marvel, the greatest height of personality, is when we can look at a human being and say, “God is there.”

The depth, the dangers, of humanity are that personality means freedom. Intelligent choice is the essence of personality.

Therefore, God appeared to be on the horns of a dilemma when He created people. (Of course, He wasn’t, for He knows His own business in the end.) But it appeared so because the people He created could turn around and say, “Thank you very much, I don’t want You to live in me.”

That’s exactly what happened.

We make self our god, not God. We just naturally run our own lives. And that’s our whole trouble.

We make self our god, not God. We just naturally run our own lives. And that’s our whole trouble.

There isn’t a single problem in humanity except our self-reactions: not one.

The Devil is no trouble. He was dealt with 2,000 years ago.

Your neighbor is not your trouble.

Circumstances are not your trouble.

The only trouble is your reaction.

Distorted self, self out of gear, is our problem.

Once we know how to handle the human self and put it back where it belongs, we’ve found the key to life.

Norman Grubb (1895 – 1993) was a missionary, author and teacher. Read more about him on http://www.NormanGrubb.com.

This article is an extract from the article called “The Key to everything.”

As believers we are destined to reign in life. Still many believers seem to have a life of defeat, poverty and failure. So what stops us from reigning in life?

2 Pet 1:3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: (KJV)
We are destined to reign in life. We are called by God to be a success, to enjoy having enough that we are blessed to be a blessing, to enjoy health and to enjoy a life of victory!  We can see in this scripture that by His divine power He has already given us all things - through the knowledge of Him!  It’s not His desire that we live a life of defeat, poverty and failure!

We are destined to reign in life because Jesus is the Lord of our life!  When we reign in life, we reign over sin, over the powers of darkness, over depression, over poverty, over every curse. We reign over sickness and disease, and over the devil and all of his plans.

Receive Grace and Reign in Life

The power to reign does not depend on our background. It does not depend on our education, on how we look, or on the savings we have in our bank account.  The power to reign is based entirely on Jesus alone!  This declaration that we will reign in life is based on a promise that has been recorded in the Word of God.

Rom 5:17 For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) (KJV)

The moment a person learns to receive grace they will begin to reign in life!

Last time we looked at this amazing truth and discovered the simplicity of the Gospel. We learned that God’s ways are not about achieving, but about receiving!  He promised that when we receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness, we will reign in life.  He did not say that when we achieve grace and our own righteousness, we would reign in life. 
The moment a person learns to receive grace they will begin to reign in life! So the enemy has set up many obstacles and fences around the gospel of grace. 

John 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
The enemy does not want us to reign in life, so he works hard to prevent believers from receiving the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness. 
Now we are going to expose some of those obstacles that he has placed to stop us from receiving!

The Enemy Wants to Keep Us Under the Law

God blesses us not because we are good, but because He is good!  Grace is based on His faithfulness and goodness toward us.  It is not based on our performance, but it is based on His undeserved favor.  If it was based on how good we are, then it would no longer be grace, but would be based on the system of the Law.  It would become deserved favor. 

The Law is deserved favor - when we obey the commandments perfectly, we will be blessed.  Grace is undeserved favor. Jesus obeyed the Father perfectly and we will be blessed by believing in Him.

Some people believe that they have to be so careful when it comes to teaching about grace, and when they hear someone talking about grace they immediately put their guard up. Grace is not a topic - grace is the Gospel!  It is the news that is too good to be true, but it is true!  It is not a doctrine - it is the person of Jesus Christ!  That is why the Lord wants us to have the abundance of grace, because to have the abundance of grace is to have the abundance of Jesus. 

John 1:17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. (KJV)
The Law was given, so we get the sense of distance, but then grace came!  Grace came as a person and His name is Jesus!  Jesus is grace!  Jesus is also truth and when we know truth, truth will make us free. Jesus makes us free from sin, not the Law of Moses!  The Law of Moses is a truth, but not the truth that makes us free.  Truth that makes us free is on the side of grace! 

the enemy does all he can to keep people under the Law so that he can keep them defeated!

So the enemy does all he can to keep people under the Law so that he can keep them defeated!  We never hear someone say, be careful of the Ten Commandments or be careful of that Law preacher.  There is no controversy about the Ten Commandments because the devil wants us to be subject to the Law.  He doesn’t want people to know that Jesus has freed us from the Law. 

Some people are afraid that when we tell a believer he is completely forgiven by grace and doesn’t have to earn his right standing before God, that he might go out and live in sin.

1 Cor 15:56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. (KJV)
We can see that the Bible is clear that the strength of sin is the Law. So the more a person is under the Law, the more the sin they struggle with is strengthened against them.  But the more we understand that we are under grace, the more sin loses its strength over our life! 

Rom 6:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. (KJV)
This means the more you receive the abundance of grace, the more you will reign over sin in your life.  I used to see sin. Then I would preach so strong against a certain sin, not understanding that I was empowering that sin to stay. It was like adding fuel to the fire, because sin is strengthened every time the Law is preached!  But the power to have dominion over sin is given to us when more grace is preached! 

sin is strengthened every time the Law is preached!

So who has switched this understanding?  It is the devil who came to steal, kill, and to destroy. He does not want us to reign in life - he wants sin and death to reign over us!

Rom 5:17 For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ. (KJV)Let’s reign in life and see the salvation of the Lord!  Let’s live our lives based on the foundation of the finished work of Christ.  Receive the abundance of grace – sin forgiven, healing, peace, provision, direction, friendship, victory!  None of this can be earned or deserved.

Next time we are going to look at the obstacles the enemy places against the gift of righteousness! It is not about achieving righteousness; it’s not about achieving abundance of grace - it’s about receiving!

Can you agree that sin reigns in people’s lives because of Adam’s sin?  But much more – “to be abundantly, a far greater degree, abundantly better, far more” – shall those who receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life by One, Jesus Christ!

An emphasis on what we are saying and what we are NOT saying.

Some people become confused when they hear that we are free from the law, and that the born-again Christian has one commandment instead of ten. Although this truth is straight from the Bible, I believe it is appropriate to emphasize what we are not saying. We do not lower the moral standard; in fact, the fruit of the life in Christ carries a higher moral standard. The life we are describing is only attainable for the born-again Christian who allows the life of Christ to live in him. And so we say with the apostle Paul, “By No Means!” (RSV)

We do not lower the moral standard; in fact, the fruit of the life in Christ carries a higher moral standard

“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?
Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?” (Rom. 6:1-2)

“For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!” (Rom. 6:14-15)

Paul is using this expression: “Certainly not!” or “By no means!” What Paul in reality is saying is: “That is to misunderstand the message completely!”

He uses this expression when people reach the wrong conclusions and imagine the wrong consequences upon hearing his teaching

He uses this expression when people reach the wrong conclusions and imagine the wrong consequences upon hearing his teaching. In fact, it is he himself who arrests the thought that we shall continue in sin that grace may abound. He understands that some may think that this is what he meant, so he raises the question to give an answer to it.

Unfortunately, this is also relevant to me. After some preachers and writers have tried to misinterpret what we teach, I have to shout out loud: “Certainly not! By no means!”

It is obvious that some completely have misunderstood our teaching about being free from the law. People have claimed that freedom from the law leads to lawlessness. But it is exactly this conclusion Paul is refuting in Rom. 6:1-2 and 14-15. Instead he says that this is the only” passable” way to sanctification and victory over sin!

Therefore, it is a total misconception when some think that we are giving people a license to sin. Some people even think that if we free people from the law, it will lead to lawlessness. Then they have not understood what the Bible talks about when it says that we are free from the law. A born-again Christian, who has the seed of God in him and walks in love, will obviously submit to the laws of God written in his heart, and to the earthly government and its rules.

It is a total misconception when some think that we are giving people a license to sin

The lawlessness that the Bible says will characterize the end times is lawlessness in the world, among the sinners and the ungodly. It is lawlessness connected to the spirit of the Antichrist, who is the lawless one. To mix this with the fight Paul was fighting for the truth of the Gospel and the freedom from the law and legalistic ways is to miss the point completely. It is a mixture of words and phrases caused by confusion of language.

Sanctification is also a work of grace, just like salvation is by grace

Having the Right Understanding of Grace. At the end of Romans 5 Paul is praising “the riches of His grace.” He says,“Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Rom. 5:20-21)

Those who are afraid that we preach too much grace have not caught the continuation and the entirety of the message. Romans 6:1-2 is in fact a direct answer to the thought some might get - that the emphasis Paul is putting on grace might give the people a freedom to sin, since grace is so great.

It is at this point he is calling out, “Certainly not!”

Dead to Sin

In fact, Paul is revealing a very liberating fact for us. Instead of the abounding grace giving you a license to sin, the grace is so great that it sets you free from sin! The blood of Jesus cleanses from all sin and when dying with Him, we died to sin.

This is the part of the Gospel where we lack proper teaching, and it makes people confused. People have missed out on the wonderful message in Romans 6:1-2, what it really is about, because traditional teaching has emphasized on the fall and the sinful nature of mankind. The message is that Jesus has done more than forgive our sins: He has delivered us from sin and its power!

The Word is very clear on the consequence of having “died with Christ”:

“Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.” (Rom. 6:6)

The chapter continues to elaborate on this, and explains our union with Jesus in His death and resurrection. “For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body…” (Rom. 6:10-12).

He already showed us that salvation is stronger than the fall in chapter 5:
“For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.” (Rom. 5:17)

Grace Sanctifies

T. B. Barratt wrote a book with a very nice title. In English it would be something like “The Sanctifying Work of Grace”. This is the very point: Sanctification is also a work of grace, just like salvation is by grace. Therefore, Paul is writing to Titus,
“ For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age…” (Tit. 2:11-12)

In other words: Both righteousness and sanctification are given to us in Christ (1 Cor. 1:30). We are saved by grace through faith, not of works. The following verse even tells us that we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works (Eph. 2:8-10).

Consequently, forgiveness and remission of sins plus a new life producing good works are included in His grace. There is no opening for self-effort and human works in any area. He who glories, let him glory in the Lord!

If our own strength or we ourselves played a part in any area, we would have something to boast about. It is natural for men to search for something we can boast about. But our boasting is excluded! If the result is good, it should all be to the praise of the glory of His grace (Eph. 1:6).

It takes away the love of sin; it makes us love the things that God loves and hate the things He hates

Grace and salvation is not of our works, but of God (Eph. 2:8-10).

The new life is not of us, but of God (John 1:12-13).

We cannot think of anything or do anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God (2 Cor. 3:5)

It is God who has placed us in Christ, and He has become our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, so that he who glories, glories in the Lord (1 Cor. 1:30-31).

“The Essence In the Gospel”
A. B. Simpson wrote so beautifully about this. He describes the riches in salvation. First he speaks about the cleansing blood that cleanses from all sin, and then he continues:
“But it is more than this. It is also God’s provision for taking away the sin of the human heart and giving to weak, fallen man the power to be right before God and toward all men.”

He continues:

“Human nature is helpless, and the very essence of the gospel is that it gives the power to choose and do the right. It takes away the love of sin; it makes us love the things that God loves and hate the things He hates. It has power to cleanse, purify, and uplift human nature. It is a divine force placed within the human heart that causes us to walk in His statutes and keep His commandments.”

This is the Gospel that we believe in and are preaching! This message was very much in focus in the so-called “Holiness Movement” that the world experienced at the close of the 19th century. Teachers like Simpson, Kenyon, and John G. Lake brought another dimension of a Christ- centered teaching into an age that was focused on personal experiences, and we owe thanks to the Lord who lifted up these voices that continue to bless and guide us even one hundred years later.

So we want to ask people to pay attention to everything we say, and grasp the entire message.

Our message about freedom from the law is about God’s way of sanctification.

“Only He Who Is Set Free From the Law Is Set Free From Sin”

“For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” (Rom. 6:14)

This is where the message about freedom from the law has its great strength. I will quote the Norwegian Study Bible:
“Only he who is set free from the law is set free from sin.”

Then you have caught it! Since “the sinful passions were aroused by the law” (Rom. 7:5), salvation had to free us from the law to give us a life in victory over sin. There is nothing wrong with the law - it is holy and just and good. The problem is sin. It was aroused by the law, so that the commandment which was to bring life, brought death. It is this fact that Romans 7 describes in great detail.

It is essential to understand that “what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did” (Rom. 8:3). We thank God that He, through Jesus Christ our Lord, has delivered us from “this body of death”, and made us free from “the law of sin and death” (Rom. 7:24-25 and 8:1-2).

Let me remind you again that this life is only obtainable for those who are born-again. We must be born-again to see the kingdom of God.

Free Indeed

Jesus preached about freedom from sin. He said that if we abide in His Word, we shall know the truth and the truth shall make us free (John 8:32). He continues, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” (John 8:34-36)

So there is actually a real freedom for the slaves of sin! 1 Pet. 4:1 says that we should arm our mind with this thought: “We have ceased from sin.”

Jesus, Peter, John, and Paul all have a liberating message about freedom from sin.

La Biblia nos dice que vamos a reinar como reyes en la vida. Debemos reinar sobre el pecado, la enfermedad, la pobreza, la derrota, la depresión, y sobre el diablo y todos sus planes. Entonces, ¿cuál es el secreto para reinar en la vida?

2 Pedro 1:3 Según su poder divino nos han sido dadas todas las cosas que pertenecen a la vida y a la piedad, mediante el conocimiento de aquel que los llamó por su gloria y la virtud: (KJV)
Estamos destinados a reinar en la vida. Somos llamados por Dios para ser un éxito, para disfrutar de tener lo suficiente - que tenemos la bendición de ser una bendición, para disfrutar de la salud y disfrutar de una vida de victoria. Podemos ver en esta escritura que por su poder divino, Él ya nos ha dado todas las cosas - a través del conocimiento de Él! No es su deseo de que vivimos una vida de derrota, la pobreza y el fracaso.

Él nos ha llamado a ser la cabeza y no la cola! Si eres una persona de negocios, Dios quiere que tengas un negocio próspero. Si eres un ama de casa,  estás ungida para criar a tus maravillosos hijos en el Señor. Si eres un estudiante, Dios quiere que pases todas las clases. Si estas confiando en el Señor por una nueva carrera, él no sólo quiere que tengas un trabajo. Él quiere que tengas una posición de influencia, para que puedas ser una bendición y ser un activo para tu organización!

El poder para reinar se basa enteramente únicamente en Jesús

Estamos diseñados para reinar en la vida, porque Jesús es el Señor de nuestra vida! Cuando reinamos en la vida, reinamos sobre el pecado, reinamos sobre los poderes de las tinieblas, reinamos sobre la depresión, reinamos sobre la pobreza y sobre todas las maldiciones, reinamos sobre la enfermedad, reinamos sobre el diablo y todos sus planes. Cuando Jesús y los discípulos estaban en el mar tempestuoso, Jesús reinó en la vida!

El Poder de Reinar

El poder para reinar no depende de nuestro pasado. No dependen de nuestra educación, de cómo nos vemos, o cuántos ahorros tenemos en nuestra cuenta bancaria. El poder para reinar se basa únicamente en Jesús! Esta declaración, que reinaremos en la vida, se basa en una promesa que se ha registrado en la Palabra de Dios.
Rom 5:17 Porque si por la ofensa de un hombre la muerte reinó, mucho más los que reciban abundancia de la gracia y el regalo de la justicia reinarán en vida por uno solo, Jesucristo. (KJV)
Reinar: del Griego basileuo-1) ser un rey, ejercer el poder real, para reinar a) utilizado por el gobernador de una provincia b) usado en la regla del Mesías 2) metafóricamente, ejercer la mayor influencia, controlar.

Mucha gente piensa que para que Dios los bendiga, necesitan merecer esa bendición

El secreto de reinar en la vida se encuentra en recibir todo lo que Jesús ha realizado por nosotros en la cruz!
Si estamos viviendo una vida de derrota, de ser derrotados por el pecado y la culpa y la condena, por los ataques de ansiedad, necesidades financieras, no estamos viviendo la vida abundante que Jesús vino a darnos. Basados en la autoridad de la Palabra de Dios, estamos destinados a reinar en la vida como un rey – tener dominio real sobre todos los desafíos de la vida que se cruzan en nuestro camino. Estamos llamados a estar por encima de todos ellos. Tenemos el derecho divino a reinar en la vida. Jesús estaba también en la tormenta en el mar, pero Él no estaba siendo derrotado por la tormenta!
Rom 5:17 Porque si por la ofensa de un hombre la muerte reinó, mucho más los que reciban abundancia de la gracia y el regalo de la justicia reinarán en vida por uno solo, Jesucristo. (KJV)
A causa del pecado de un hombre, Adán en el Jardín del Edén, la muerte comenzó a reinar. Nosotros, somos pecadores, no porque hayamos pecado, sino a causa del pecado de Adán. Muchos creyentes siguen pensando que se convierten en pecadores por cometer pecado, pero eso no es lo que la Palabra de Dios dice. Lo que dice es que somos pecadores a causa del pecado de Adán. Pero también somos hechos justos, en el Nuevo Pacto, no porque hagamos buenas obras, sino por la obediencia de un hombre - Jesús en la cruz.
El secreto de reinar en la vida se encuentra en recibir todo lo que Jesús ha realizado por nosotros en la cruz. Podemos ver muy claramente aquí en la Palabra de Dios que hemos de reinar en la vida por medio de Jesucristo sólo por recibir de él dos cosas: la abundancia de la gracia y el regalo de la justicia!

La forma del mundo es decirnos que debemos trabajar más duro.

Mucha gente piensa que para que Dios los bendiga,  necesitan merecer esa bendición, o que necesitan ganar esa bendición por sus propios medios para recibir el favor de Dios. Muchos piensan que las bendiciones de Dios se basan en el rendimiento y buenas obras.

El Sistema del mundo

Pero los caminos de Dios no se refieren a lograr,  ¡sino a recibir! Él prometió que cuando recibiéramos la abundancia de la gracia y el regalo de la justicia,  reinaríamos en la vida. Él no dijo que cuando lográramos la gracia y nuestra propia justicia, reinaríamos en la vida. Pero por alguna razón muchos cristianos continúan viviendo su vida basada en el sistema del mundo del logro.

Pero si es realmente así de fácil, ¿por qué no hay más cristianos reinando en la vida? La mayoría de la gente cree que tienen que trabajar duro para lograr el éxito en la vida. Ellos construyen sus vidas en el esfuerzo y la diligencia. Yo creo en el trabajo duro, creo en ser fieles y diligentes. Pero el problema viene después de que empezamos a creer que la acción y el esfuerzo propio es lo que nos lleva a tener éxito en las cosas de Dios sobre nuestra vida.
2 Cor 1:19 Porque el Hijo de Dios, Jesucristo, que fue predicado entre vosotros por nosotros - por mí, Silvano y Timoteo - no es Sí y No, pero en él fue Sí. 20 Porque todas las promesas de Dios son en él Sí, y en él Amén, para gloria de Dios a través de nosotros.  (NKJV)

Nos impulsan a hacer, hacer, hacer - olvidando que el cristianismo es hecho, hecho, hecho.
El mundo nos dice que cuanto más hacemos, mientras más duro trabajamos, las más horas ponemos en el éxito más vamos a lograr. La forma del mundo nos dice que hay que trabajar más, olvidar asistir a la iglesia con regularidad, pasar menos tiempo con nuestras familias, y pasar más tiempo concentrándose en nuestro trabajo. Es hora de pagar el precio para salir adelante ... si no hay dolor no hay ganancia!

Deja de tratar de hacer lo que ya está hecho!

Lo que algunos creyentes hacen es tomar el sistema del mundo y aplicarlo a la vida cristiana. En lugar de depender de la gracia de Dios para lograr su favor y dejar que fluyan las bendiciones, dependen de sus propios esfuerzos para tratar de merecer el favor de Dios y las bendiciones. Pero el camino de Dios no es bendecirnos por nuestros propios esfuerzos.

El Sistema de Dios

No podemos ganar las bendiciones de Dios por nuestro desempeño. Las bendiciones de Dios se basan enteramente en su gracia. Sus bendiciones sobre nuestra vida tienen que ser un favor inmerecido. No hay nada que podamos hacer para merecer sus bendiciones. Ellas se basan enteramente en recibir a Jesús y a través de su obra terminada - la abundancia de la gracia y el regalo de la justicia.
Dios quiere que dejemos de tratar de lograr, y comenzar a recibir el favor, las bendiciones y la sanidad que Jesús logró en la cruz. Cuando fue colgado en la cruz, clamó a gran voz: “¡Consumado es!” Todo lo que usted y yo necesitamos para reinar en la vida se llevó a cabo en ese día. Es por eso que llamamos lo que Jesús logró en la cruz, la obra terminada de Cristo. Él lo terminó - el pecado, la curación, el suministro, la amistad, la orientación, la paz y la victoria. Terminó el trabajo! Logró por nosotros lo que no podemos lograr por nosotros mismos.

Deja de tratar de hacer lo que ya está hecho! Deja de “hacer"para calificar para la bendición. Jesús logró la calificación por nosotros - comienza a recibir lo que Jesús ha hecho!
2 Pedro 1:3 De acuerdo a su divino poder nos han sido dadas todas las cosas que pertenecen a la vida y a la piedad, mediante el conocimiento de aquel que nos llamó por su gloria y la virtud: (KJV)

It is such a huge difference between living in the Old Covenant and living in the New Covenant. In the Old Covenant God said he would not forget the sins and iniquity of the people, even to the third and the fourth generation. In the New Covenant God says in Hebrews 8:12, “their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”

When David committed sin, his child had to die. However, in the new covenant, our son doesn’t have to die. Why? Because God’s Son died for our sins! How blessed we are that live after the cross, after the judgment of sins came upon Jesus. That is the amazing Gospel of the Grace of God.

David envied us and spoke of the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works. In Romans 4:6 he spoke about the Old Covenant, “blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered”, and then he continued in verse 7 about the New Covenant, “blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin”. How blessed we are! And how that awareness changes our lives! We love Him because He first loved us!

In this newsletter we present teaching about how Jesus causes us to live in victory over sin, defeat, poverty and sickness. Pastor Åge Åleskjær also gives important explanations to some of the misunderstandings about the teachings of Grace.  We pray the teachings will bring great revelations and clarifications.

A new and important look at Jesus’ story about the persistent woman and the judge.

I used to believe that it increased the likelihood of having my prayers answered if I prayed constantly about the thing that concerned me. I thought the longer I stayed on my knees about it the better off the outcome would be. I don’t believe that anymore. God doesn’t need me to convince Him to act on my behalf. Jesus once told a story that illustrates the heart of the Father toward us:

Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart, saying, “In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man. There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me legal protection from my opponent.’ For a while he was unwilling, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.’” And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge said; now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly.

Praying to persuade God

Isn’t Jesus telling us all that we need to keep praying and praying and praying without giving up on the Father answering our prayer?

Isn’t Jesus telling us all that we need to keep praying and praying and praying without giving up on the Father answering our prayer? I think this view misses the point. Jesus is using an unrighteous man as His example in this story. Jesus stresses twice that this judge “did not fear God nor respect man.” He wasn’t a loving, caring man at all. He was indifferent to the needs of the supplicant and had to be worn down by persistent begging.

In this story Jesus was doing what He did so many other times, and that is to make an argument through contrast.

The truth Jesus wants us to see is that we are not to think of God that way! In this story Jesus was doing what He did so many other times, and that is to make an argument through contrast. We are missing the point if we think God is like that judge, unconcerned with people’s needs and only responding if we badger Him into it. No, Jesus’ point is, “If even an unrighteous, uncaring judge can be persuaded to act for you, how much more will the perfectly loving and good God respond to our heartfelt cries!” He isn’t telling us that we have to pray tremendous lengths of time to persuade our Father. What He is saying is that anytime and every time you pray, you can have confidence that He hears and will answer. All the time you can pray knowing that He loves you and isn’t holding out on you until you prove your sincerity by time and effort in prayer. God isn’t a judge who needs to be persuaded. He is a Father who is eager to answer you and to show you His love!

God isn’t a judge who needs to be persuaded.

We reverse it in our minds sometimes, and believe that God doesn’t care. We think, “If we can just get enough people praying, and can log enough time in prayer, then maybe we can cause God to do something He really isn’t interested in doing. If He’s not now on our side, maybe we can win Him over through sheer effort and persistence.”

God is the initiator

The truth of grace is just the opposite. We don’t have to persuade a reluctant, unconcerned God. It’s the other way around. God is the seeker. He is the primary lover. God is always the initiator, so in reality the way it works is this: When the Lord gets ready to do something, He often moves the hearts of His people to pray. He moves us to pray, and we might be moved to invite others to join us in prayer. Then they can share in the process and become a part of the answer as well. When we become involved in prayer, God allows us to participate in what He’s doing in this world.

When the Lord gets ready to do something, He often moves the hearts of His people to pray.

Back to the story Jesus told of the unrighteous judge. It’s important to note that in the story, Jesus had the supplicant appealing to a judge for help. He wanted us to see that our Father isn’t like the person depicted in this story. The judge was reluctant to answer, but our Father isn’t.

Our view of God

How we view God has everything to do with what expectations (faith) we have when we come to Him in prayer. I’ve already said that Jesus was using contrast to show the difference between our situation when we ask God for something and the situation of the widow in His story. There can be a difference in our expectation and approach when we come to Him because of the difference in the identities of the one the widow was beseeching and the One we are asking for help.

She was talking to a judge. You aren’t. You are talking to your Father. That difference cannot be overstated. God isn’t a judge who is sitting in heaven with a judicial mindset toward you that causes you to have to appeal to Him as you would ask a human judge to show you mercy and to grant your petition to the court.

Your Father is already on your side and is eager to bless you in every way.

Our God’s relationship to you isn’t judicial. It is relational. He is your Father and He delights in responding to your heartfelt requests. You can approach Him with the full knowledge that He doesn’t have to be persuaded to act in your best interest. His role in your life is based on His loving character. That fact gives you reason to know that you don’t have to beg Him. You don’t have to get enough people to convince Him the way somebody might show up in court with a petition signed by a multitude of people to convince the judge to rule on their behalf. Your Father is already on your side and is eager to bless you in every way. The story of the widow and the judge doesn’t teach the lesson many of us have been told. In fact, it teaches just the opposite. (Luke 18:1-8).

Faith is essential in our prayer life. As we discover that faith is restful, we will experience that prayer is restful too.

Faith is easy.  It is simply yielding to and resting in Jesus’ ability.  The apostle Paul asked the Galatians believers, “He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does he do it by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith?” (Galatians 3:5). 

Put this question in contemporary language.  Do you receive the Holy Spirit and does God work miracles among you by your efforts and struggles?  Does it happen by how well you have performed your religious duties?  Or do these divine blessings come by hearing of Jesus and His abilities?

As a young new believer, I heard that the next step in my spiritual growth was to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit.  Naturally, I wanted to advance in my newfound life as a believer, and I thought I must have this experience with the Holy Spirit.  I was spending three weeks at a Christian youth camp where people told me if I sincerely wanted the baptism of the Holy Spirit I should attend a 7:00 a.m. prayer meeting.  These were beautiful Christian friends and they wanted the best for me.  They emphasized that this prayer time was only for those who were sincere in their quest for the Holy Spirit.  I was fourteen years old and an early morning prayer meeting was not really my style, but I wanted to put forth a good effort.  Bleary-eyed, I rolled out of bed at five minutes to seven in the morning and rushed to the prayer meeting.  We begged and pleaded with the Lord, “Please God, please baptize us in the Holy Spirit.”  If anyone should have received because of our effort, it should have been us.  In fact, one of the young men, Hans, who was the leader of this prayer meeting, was an exemplary youth.  I felt I was not nearly as “holy” as he.  He was the one who woke me up so I would make it in time to the prayer meeting.  If anyone should have been rewarded with the baptism of the Holy Spirit, it was Hans.  He had a stepbrother who was his complete opposite, named Steve.  Steve wasn’t saved, and furthermore, was the number one troublemaker at the youth camp.  If anything went wrong, any prank, we knew Steve was behind it. 

If anyone should have received because of our effort, it should have been us.

One night this rebellious young man wandered into our evening service.  We never knew if he’d show up or not, though the rules of the camp mandated that everybody had to be in attendance.  Steve was crying and called out that he needed Jesus.  We all thought that was wonderful.  We knew he needed salvation considering what a “big sinner” he was.  Fifteen minutes after Steve received Jesus as his Savior, he was baptized in the Holy Spirit speaking in other tongues.  When we saw this, knowing how thoroughly unsanctified he was, we were a bit unsure.  However, we thought, “Well, God is good so maybe this is alright after all.”  Then, twenty minutes after this experience we heard Steve’s voice from the back of the auditorium speaking a message in other tongues prefacing it with “thus saith the Lord.”

If you are unfamiliar with this kind of a happening, it is described in Paul’s writing to the Corinthians.  A message in tongues and interpretation are two out of the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit mentioned there.  Steve was giving a message in tongues and interpreting; prophesying to us who felt superior to him spiritually.  The word he gave was very powerful and though we sensed it was a word from God we had a tough time receiving it.  What business did God have to use such a troublemaker?  If anyone should have been prophesying it should have been one of us who had attended the 7:00 a.m. prayer meeting.  We had been begging God and seemingly received nothing.  Do you see how a religious legalistic mindset works?  The legalistic condemning person hates the undeserved, unearned, unmerited favor of God.  “Didn’t Steve still need to get sanctified?” you may ask.  Of course, but God does not give miracles according to how qualified a person is.  He does it by faith.  I’ve seen this scenario repeated hundreds of times.  It’s the hopeless and the hurting that are touched by Jesus.

People who are focused on faith rarely receive; those focused on Jesus readily receive.

All Christian virtues, including humility and sanctification, are very important.  God’s grace will work in us if we allow it to produce these qualities.  However, possession of Christian virtues does not earn us points toward a miracle.

As mentioned earlier, hundreds of people have approached me saying, “Pastor Peter, pray for me.  I have lots of faith.  Just ask God to heal me now.”  I could be wrong - there could be some instance I have forgotten, but I can’t think of a single person who approached me proclaiming how much faith they had who actually received their miracle.  Faith is not an issue of human performance, but rather of connecting a person with Jesus.  People who are focused on faith rarely receive; those focused on Jesus readily receive. 

Are You Good Enough?

That’s why the stories of the Canaanite woman and the Roman centurion are so important.  Jesus ascribed “great faith” to them.  They didn’t even know all the requirements for healing.  They were Gentiles who had not been exposed to the Law of Moses.  The less we look at ourselves and the more we look to Jesus, the more faith comes.  Faith has nothing to do with our achievement or our worthiness.  Questions like “Am I good enough?  Do I measure up?” make faith of no effect. 
Faith rests in Jesus and His ability.  That’s why we often see Muslims, Buddhists, and Hindus who know very little about the Bible receive astounding miracles.  Though they have never heard of the Book of Genesis, the epistles to the Romans or Galatians, they grasp the simple truth of God’s love revealed in Jesus for them.  Once a person connects with Jesus, everything is possible. 

Once a person connects with Jesus, everything is possible.

When we forget ourselves and look at Jesus Christ we become peaceful.  Faith is not rules concerning what we must do.  When we see Jesus as big as He really is we relax in Him.  When Jesus appears great to your inward eyes you automatically start speaking positively, confessing God’s Word.  In fact, you can’t speak negatively when you see Jesus completely as big and awesome.  This is entirely opposite of being stressed to live up to expectations, as if God was a scorekeeper in heaven counting points to see if you have shown enough faith to qualify for an answer to your prayers.

Peter Youngren’s faith isn’t very good; that’s why I hook up with Jesus’ faith.  If it’s up to the sick person’s faith or the preacher’s faith, we don’t have much hope.  Sometimes people say to me, “Peter, you’re such a man of faith.”  Of course, I like when people say nice things about me, but in myself I’m not a great man of faith.  Truthfully, in myself I have little or no faith, but I have experienced thousands of times when Jesus’ ability and His faith has flowed through me.  Because of Jesus living in me I have full access to His faith.  I yield to Him.

It is stressful to pretend faith.  If a doctor diagnoses I’m going to die in thirty days, my mind understands the implications of that diagnosis.  I can’t psych myself into some miracle-working faith - I need the faith of the Son of God.  I would want to pray, “Lord, no matter how hard I try to believe, no matter how much I try to put on a good face, I know that Your faith is the only faith that works.  Jesus, I just want to draw closer to You.  Let Your life, Word, faith and power flow through me.” 

Jesus is Relaxed

When Jesus calmed the raging storm, all the disciples were on deck screaming, “We perish!  God help us!”  All the while Jesus was asleep in the bottom of the boat.  We may have foolishly reprimanded Jesus, “Don’t You have any sense of responsibility, Jesus?  The boat is going under and You’re asleep?  At least the disciples showed some responsibility and cried for help.”  If we didn’t know any better we would think the disciples were the ones with faith.  If the Bible account had said there were thirteen people on the boat and one was asleep, we would have thought the one sleeping was Judas or Thomas or maybe Simon Peter, but not Jesus.  The Bible account, however, is clear that the author and finisher of faith was asleep on a pillow.  There’s no panic with Jesus.

you will find rest for your souls

When Jesus heard that Lazarus was dying we read, “So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was.” (John 11:6)  If we didn’t know it was Jesus who purposely waited two days we would have thought it was one of the disciples.  Possibly it was Judas or Thomas who encouraged this delay.  We may have thought that the responsible action of Jesus would have been to hurry to the house of Mary, Martha and Lazarus, and quickly perform the miracle.  Again Jesus exemplifies rest.  When we lift Him up and we see how great He is and His love fills our hearts we, too, will be at rest.  This restful faith causes tumors to melt and slipped discs, hernias and joints and inflammations to be healed. 

Jesus is relaxed in every situation.  Consider the feeding of the five thousand.  Even though Jesus knew what He was going to do He asked Philip, “What do you think?”  Jesus didn’t say, “I am the Messiah.  I have the revelation.  You better start bringing some empty baskets or this miracle is not going to happen.”  No, Jesus is at rest. 

You may have heard a lot of stressful preaching about how you must produce faith.  It’s one thing for healthy folks to be stressed out, but if you’re on your deathbed and get taken into a healing service and once you get there they stress you out with so many instructions, it actually becomes worse than the hospital.  That’s not Jesus’ ministry.  For He said, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”  (Matthew 11:28-30) 

Let nothing come between you and Jesus, not even your earnest attempt to have faith.

You need not be stressed about the size of your faith.  Instead, allow Jesus to get bigger before your inward eyes.  Is Jesus big enough to touch your family?  To remove your tumor?  Big enough for your lung problem, psoriasis, eczema, migraine?  Is Jesus big enough to heal your cancer?  How big is your Jesus?  Let nothing come between you and Jesus, not even your earnest attempt to have faith.  Be at rest in Jesus!

All About Jesus Now

Before Jesus’ death and resurrection, while we were still in the Old Covenant, Jesus frequently told people, “Your faith has made you whole.”  Never again are these words spoken once we enter into the New Covenant after Jesus’ death and resurrection.  Never again are believers told, “Why don’t you have faith?”  You cannot be a born-again believer and be without faith.  Once you are a believer the author and finisher of faith lives inside of you. 

These words “your faith has made you whole” were never spoken by the apostles Paul, John or Peter, once Jesus had finished the work of His death and resurrection.  Rather, Simon Peter looked at Aeneas who was lame, and said, “Jesus heals you.”  Philip went to Samaria and “preached Jesus Christ to them.”  Paul said, “I preach only ‘Jesus Christ and Him crucified.’”  The whole message and operation of miracles was centered on Jesus.  The Holy Spirit glorifies Jesus.  When we put the focus on Jesus, what He has done and His ability, the Holy Spirit works with us.

If nothing happens at first when we pray then we just draw closer to Jesus and His Word.

When you receive the healing you need while reading the pages of this book, please don’t say, “Peter Youngren’s ministry is really powerful.”  No, we don’t want to exalt a ministry; we only want to lift up Jesus.  I’ve heard too many statements like, “I have a ministry for back problems; I have a ministry for deaf ears; I have a ministry for stomach healings.”  It’s about time we say, “I’ve got Jesus and He is all-sufficient.”  This way we don’t have to seek healing or any specially anointed person, but our pursuit is after the Healer.  If nothing happens at first when we pray then we just draw closer to Jesus and His Word.  We don’t blame ourselves or others, but instead we ask the Holy Spirit for an ever clearer revelation of Jesus.

The Book of Hebrews says, “For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.” (Hebrews 4:10)  Did you notice that?  That rest comes when we cease from our own works.  When we stop trying to have faith or earn our miracle, we can rest in Jesus’ love and power.

Jesus told the disciples “on that day you will pray…” So, first, we can see that prayer belongs to the New Covenant believer! Then Jesus continued and said that the way we pray would change once we came to the New Covenant.

I’ve several times heard and read T.L. Osborn tell how after he discovered the finished work of Jesus Christ, it took him two years to adjust his prayer-life accordingly.

In this GGN newsletter Steve McVey and Peter Youngren share with you some very helpful words about prayer. There is also much more to say about this important topic, so in the study-corner we have referred to some materials you may obtain for further study. Some of it is available on the web free of charge, while others have to be purchased.  We highly recommend the teachings.

Let’s ask the Lord for revelation and understanding of this wonderful and powerful privilege of prayer. Let’s also continue to grow in understanding on how to rightly divide the Word of God when it comes to prayer before and after Pentecost. The cross of Jesus made a huge difference and God is now a reconciled God and our loving Father.

We are grateful for your e-mails telling how God has brought changes to lives, families and ministries through the revelation of the Word of God. You are important to God, and it is our great privilege to be able to stay in contact with you through these newsletters.

Some stories we hear stick with us for a life-time. I once heard the following story, and I have no count on many times I have shared this story while teaching and preaching the Word around the world.

It tells about a couple that came to their pastor for counselling. “My husband doesn’t love me anymore,” the wife complained. The husband replied, “No, Pastor, that is not true. I love my wife!” “No, he doesn’t love me,” she insisted. “Yes, I love her! But I just want her to cook the food and clean the house. Is that too much to ask for?” the husband asked. “See? He doesn’t love me”, she answered, “because I want him to love me even if I don’t cook the food and clean the house. For that love will then give me the strength and joy to do all those things.”

This is a wonderful truth! 1 John 4:19 says, “We love him because he first loved us.” The love of God FOR us and IN us causes our lives to be radically changed.

We pray that you will be encouraged and increase in revelation by reading the two articles presented in this newsletter. Take time to carefully study the teaching from Pastor Åge M. Åleskjær on how the Law of Christ works in our lives. Some think that when we say we are not under the Mosaic Law, we say we are lawless. However, that is not so, as in the New Covenant we have the Law of Christ, the Law of Love. It has a higher standard than the Mosaic Law, but it works in a very different way.

A Study of the Law of the New Covenant – the Law of Christ.

In an earlier article (“Rightly Dividing the Word of God”), I mentioned the three different groups of people that the Bible speaks about, and the laws that govern each group. The Jews are under the Mosaic Law, the Gentiles are under the law of conscience, and we, the church of God, are under the law of Christ. What is this law of Christ? The Bible uses many names to describe it, and it contains only one commandment: to love. In this article we will use some time to study this law of Christ, which is the only law that brings liberty!

The love that has been poured out in our hearts obviously wants to live a life pleasing to God.

The love that has been poured out in our hearts obviously wants to live a life pleasing to God. This is why all the requirements that the Old Covenant announced will be fulfilled as we live by the New Covenant love. So when some people think that we are preaching lawlessness, it is a big misunderstanding. We are preaching a higher law: the law of the New Covenant, the law of love, the perfect law of liberty, the royal law according to the Scripture, which only works when Jesus is living in you!

This perfect law exceeds all the requirements of the Old Covenant, but it all happens in the newness of the Spirit, not in the oldness of the letter. The Pharisees’ business with the letter has been replaced by the wonderful fragrance of life that comes from the new life.

We have moved out from the narrow corridor of letter and into the glorious freedom of the Spirit. Hallelujah!

Of course the new life is flowing in harmony with the right and wrong standards of God. But this is more than the tree of knowledge dividing between good and evil - this is the tree of life, dividing life and death. Many Pharisees try to do and say the right things, but it is without life. There is no aroma of Christ, and it fills Christian churches with lifeless doctrines.

Oh, how happy I am that I have experienced the new life of the Spirit! In Norway the old Pentecostal believers used to sing, “Rejoice that I came over to the Hallelujah side!” To that my heart says, “Yes, and Amen.”

The New Commandment

We are new creations; we live in a New Covenant with a new commandment.

In the New Covenant we have one commandment instead of ten.

In the New Covenant we have one commandment instead of ten. This one commandment is not written “on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart” (2 Cor. 3:3).

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another” (John 13:34).

“And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment” (1 John 3:23).

The key to live in this new commandment is that “the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Rom. 5:5).

The Brilliant Solution of God

The new commandment is an impossible “requirement” if we are to produce this love on our own.

The new commandment is an impossible “requirement” if we are to produce this love on our own. Then we are back where we started. Then the new commandment is worse than the Ten Commandments from Mount Sinai.

But the solution of God is brilliant! He Himself fulfills the requirement in us by pouring out His love in our hearts; He gives us a new nature when we pass from death to life. The new nature loves the brethren, just like 1 John 3:17 says. And therefore the requirement is fulfilled in us.

If we should be required to make the first initiative—that love should start with our effort—this requirement would be impossible to fulfill. It would be “mission impossible” if we were the ones who were to produce the love to fulfill the commandment about loving the Lord with all our hearts and our neighbor as ourselves.

So without being born-again, this commandment cannot be put into practice. It is when we pass from death to life that we receive the love, and then it is written on fleshly tablets of the heart. Love comes from God. We love because He first loved us. We forgive because He already has forgiven. He died for us while we were still sinners.

We Love Because He First Loved Us

Listen to this:
“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another” (1 John 4:7-11).

“We love, because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19, RSV).

The whole miracle is founded on His work in us; our performance and our boasting are excluded!

This is the key to the new commandment. It is not us who loved God - it is He who loved us! We love, because He first loved us.

This kills the religion of works, and gives God all the glory. The result is wonderful. We love, we have that love poured out in our hearts, and we love the brethren because we are born of God. The whole miracle is founded on His work in us; our performance and our boasting are excluded!  As we now live and do according to His good pleasure, and keep His commandment, it is the result of Him working in us both to will and to do for His good pleasure. Grace upon grace!

Jesus Introduced It, but the New Life Made It Possible

Even if Jesus introduced the new commandment in John 13:34, He knew that it was a prophecy of the time that was to come after Calvary. He knew

that this would not work before the Spirit was given, because it was by the Spirit that the love of God was poured out in our hearts

that this would not work before the Spirit was given, because it was by the Spirit that the love of God was poured out in our hearts.

In John 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17, Jesus is prophesying about the time after Pentecost. He is constantly referring to “when He, the Spirit of truth, has come,” and He uses expressions like “in that day,” etc. John explains it like this:
“Brethren, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard from the beginning. Again, a new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining. He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him” (1 John 2:7-10).

When John says that they had this commandment from the beginning, it might be that he refers to the fact that they had this commandment from the time they were newly saved: “an old commandment which you have had from the beginning.” But it might also be that he refers to Jesus introducing this commandment. However, now it is true “in Him and in you,” because it is now that the light is shining. 

In any case, the new commandment is that we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in darkness.

One Commandment Instead of Ten

The Word explains:
“Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ ‘You shall not covet,’ and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law” (Rom. 13:8-10).

“For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” (Gal. 5:14).

So we have been given one commandment instead of ten. Are you able to see it?

If you at the same time have the revelation of how you can receive this love, as we just looked at in Rom. 5:5, 1 John 3:14, and 1 John 4:19, then you have found the answer of how you can live a life pleasing to God.

Some Things are an Individual Matter
This commandment is written in our hearts, and because of this, some things become an individual matter to us, e.g. that some keep one day holy and others don’t. But no part is allowed to despise the other. In connection to food it says that one believes he may only eat vegetables, whereas another believes he may have all things. Neither part is allowed to judge the other for all of us live to the Lord. You can find all this in Romans 14.

This chapter closes by saying that whatever is not from faith is sin. Consequently, the New Testament commandment is that we shall live in faith and love. The new commandment is love, and everything done apart from love is sin.

So you will find that God’s commandment in the New Testament is that you shall walk in love, because then you will fulfill the law. The one who loves does not steal. The one who loves does not commit adultery. The one who loves does not lie. The one who loves does not murder. He who loves has fulfilled the law (Rom. 13:8-10).

The Perfect Law – The Law of Liberty

“Therefore, lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

The Word of God is like a mirror telling us who we are.

For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does” (James 1:21-25).

This is where the key is found!
The Word of God is like a mirror telling us who we are. Just think about all the verses in the Bible talking about “in Him,” “through Him,” “with Him,” etc. The Bible is explaining about who we are in Him because He lives in us and we in Him! When you look into this, like in a mirror observing who you really are, and after going away you do not forget what kind of man you are, but rather you continue to look into the mirror, then you will look into the perfect law of liberty and you will be blessed in your doing.

Do Not Forget Who You Are
Let us look at this sentence again: “immediately forgets what kind of man he was.”

This is a common problem for many Christians. They forget who they are in Christ, and what they can do because of Him living in us. This is why we have to continue observing ourselves in the mirror, so that we may know “what kind of man” we are. We must know that we are now new creations in Christ, that we are dead to sin and have been raised to a new life. We are blessed with every spiritual blessing, healed by the stripes of Jesus, seated with Him in Heaven, the devil is under our feet, and He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world.

We must know that we are now new creations in Christ, that we are dead to sin and have been raised to a new life.

That makes you victorious. You are above and not beneath; the head and not the tail.

Many Christians have forgotten who they are, and this is why they are not experiencing being blessed in what they do.

The Law of Liberty
This is a glorious name of the law that governs the believer’s life. There are many terms describing the laws that prevailed after Calvary. Here are some of them: the law of the Spirit of life, the law of faith, the law of liberty, and the law of Christ, which is the commandment of love.

The law of liberty is called the perfect law or “the perfect law of liberty.” This is the law that leads to complete freedom. It really is a name for the power that works in us when the Word gains control and we live in the fruit of the redemption. Therefore, if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed!

Notice how the message of freedom runs as a thread through the Word. He says:
“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32).

“Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed” (John 8:36).

Then he is talking about freedom from living under the bondage of sin. Paul is teaching about freedom from sin throughout the entire chapter of Romans 6 and in Romans 7 he is setting us free from the law.  In Galatians he is very concerned about the liberty we have in Christ (Gal. 2 and 5:1).  The epistle to the Colossians speaks about freedom from bondage, traditions, man-made commandments, philosophies, and religiosity.

You are free from the curse of the law, free from the power of darkness, free from everything you were a prisoner to! It is this perfect liberty that applies now. The law of liberty is the perfect law.

The Liberty of the Individual

Let us look at another side of this liberty. There is a great difference between the position of the individual in the Old and in the New Covenant. In the Old Covenant one had to ask “the seer” (the prophet) to know about the will of God and receive God’s guidance. It was the prophet who had the Spirit of God, and he could teach his neighbor and his brother and say, “know the Lord.”

But now in the New Covenant every believer has received the Holy Spirit, and “for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them” (Heb. 8:6-12).

The New Covenant, which is established on better promises, has the advantage in that the individual has the Spirit of God and can be led by the Spirit of God.
“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God” (Rom 8:14).

“But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teaches you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him” (1 John 2:27).

as an individual, you may “know the Lord” yourself

This does not mean that we do not need teachers, because God appointed teachers in the church. Rather it means that as an individual, you may “know the Lord” yourself. That is the privilege of the believer.

Unfortunately, the charismatic circles have sinned against this. The leaders have very often managed the life of the individual in a wrong way, and this leads to a control that binds the person. The worst thing is manipulating prophecies, where one prophesies people into ministries or asks them to do things or go places based on a prophecy. That is not the Spirit of the New Covenant at all!

As ministers, let us rather help people to grow in the knowledge of the privileges and ways of the New Covenant, so they can grow and live accordingly.

As ministers of the Gospel, it is our privilege to bring good news and wonderful information to people who desperately need the Word we have.

It’s most frustrating when we know we have revelations that will make a difference in people’s lives and they refuse to heed it.

Luke 19:39-42 (Amp) provides insight as to how Jesus felt when this happened to Him. The scripture states He wept audibly over their inability to understand His teaching.

39 And some of the Pharisees from the throng said to Jesus, Teacher, reprove Your disciples!

41 And as He approached, He saw the city, and He wept [audibly] over it, 42 Exclaiming, Would that you had known personally, even at least in this your day, the things that make for peace (for freedom from all the distresses that are experienced as the result of sin and upon which your peace—your security, safety, prosperity, and happiness—depends)! But now they are hidden from your eyes.

Our Source of Inspiration

These people, like many religious today, wanted to reprove those who believed in total freedom through the Gospel. Jesus stated that they did not know what was available for them in their day.

The Word of God needs to become our source of inspiration - not the negative or positive response of those to whom we minister.

It is important that we know what is ours in this day and what we have to give to others. The Word of God needs to become our source of inspiration - not the negative or positive response of those to whom we minister. There is an interesting scripture in Jeremiah chapter fifteen.

In the 15th verse Jeremiah vents his feelings toward God’s long-suffering concerning those who opposed him. In fact, he stated that he was suffering as a result. Have you ever been there?

But note the source of his inspiration.

Jeremiah 15:16 (Amp)

16 Your words were found, and I ate them; and Your words were to me a joy and the rejoicing of my heart, for I am called by Your name, O Lord God of hosts.

Dear fellow minister, I know you may feel that your nation and your area is a challenge. I know what it feels like to feel alone.  However, I have learned that His word is the source of my joy and it alone can bring rejoicing to my heart. This is especially true when those whom we love and want to help oppose the Word of grace and of faith. We may weep for them, but also rejoice that we all are called by His name.

His word is the source of my joy and it alone can bring rejoicing to my heart.

I beg you not to allow adversity to birth despair in your heart.

Jeremiah 15:19 (Amp)

19 Therefore thus says the Lord [to Jeremiah]: If you return [and give up this mistaken tone of distrust and despair], then I will give you again a settled place of quiet and safety, and you will be My minister; and if you separate the precious from the vile [cleansing your own heart from unworthy and unwarranted suspicions concerning God’s faithfulness], you shall be My mouthpiece. [But do not yield to them.] Let them return to you—not you to [the people].

You are the Hope of This World

I feel as I write that these are words fitly spoken for some of you wonderful ministers.

Heb 13:20-21 is my prayer for you:

20 Now may the God of peace [Who is the Author and the Giver of peace], Who brought again from among the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, by the blood [that sealed, ratified] the everlasting agreement (covenant, testament), [Isa. 55:3; 63:11; Ezek. 37:26; Zech. 9:11.]

22 I call on you, brethren, to listen patiently and bear with this message of exhortation and admonition and encouragement, for I have written to you briefly.

Be encouraged by the knowledge that you are the hope of this WORLD.

All religions seek to please a deity. Is it the same way with Christianity? Must we please God to achieve His favor? Let’s look at the difference between religions and the Gospel.

The whole world, mostly without knowing it, is crying out for grace. A common picture of God or gods is that of a deity towering omnipotent, unapproachable, indifferent towards human suffering, and in constant need of appeasement. Such gods usually exist in a different sphere, separated from us, preoccupied with themselves and with limited interest in human affairs, unless there is something to be gained for the deity itself.

Pleasing God

In addition to pleasing those around us, many feel obligated to please the almighty. The concept of a displeased deity is inherent to religion. In fact, without this it is difficult to see how religion as we know it can survive. The Gospel story stands in stark contrast to all the gods that the human mind has imagined. The God of grace is not a taker, but a giver; there is no self-centeredness in Him. The mere concept of an untouchable deity is anathema to the Gospel. God, who so loved that He gave Christ, is determined to bless us with abundant life; wanting no separation between the mortal and the divine. In the face of the Gospel, why are so many still pre-occupied with trying to please a supposed displeased God?

In the face of the Gospel, why are so many still pre-occupied with trying to please a supposed displeased God?

The answer always entails some human deficiency, some area where we feel we did not measure up to the expectations that were set before us. The devout Muslim feels guilty when in the middle of Ramadan, the fasting month, hunger gets the best of him and he grabs some food before the sun goes down. Allah is displeased.
 
The Buddhist feels guilty for not meditating, or being available when the monks came by for the weekly collection. The Hindu worries about the displeasure of the gods when temple worship and prescribed prayers are neglected. Will he incur the wrath of the gods?
 
The Christian is haunted by failure, wondering if God is not answering prayer because of that secret sin. Oh, he tried to repent, and even received prayer from a well-known pastor. Still, the temptation is there. Surely God can’t be pleased.

There are numerous ways to seek relief - pretension for one. Just act like everything is OK. If others think we are good, then that makes it so, while if those around us disapprove, we too feel guilty. Best to put on a good face, and talk the Christian jargon - Praise the Lord, Hallelujah, and everything is OK. Yet, another guilt relief is constant religious activity in search for a remedy - confess sins and repent daily or preferably several times per day. Search your heart continually for some hidden transgression, then try to root it out, and promise to never touch it again.

Everything I have described so far can be put under one headline – LAW.

Thirty-six and a half of the books of the Old Testament are written from the time period of the Law.The only exceptions are Job, Genesis, and half of Exodus. Why does the Bible give so much attention to law and legalism? Could it be, because all are tempted to rely on self-effort and performance-based legalistic religion rather than grace? Legalistic religion is not unique to the Jews; it is the essence of any religion.

The Business Model of Religion

In fact, the business model of religion rests on these two concepts: a displeased deity and a guilty conscience.

In fact, the business model of religion rests on these two concepts: a displeased deity and a guilty conscience.  Any rabbi, pastor, mullah, priest or monk worth his salt must know how to reinforce the idea of a displeased deity and fuel the anguish of a guilty conscience. That’s how people stay hooked on religion. Of course, Jesus has blown the business model of religion into a thousand pieces. By one sacrifice, once for all, He did away with the displeasure of God, putting away sins by the sacrifice of Himself.
 
Religion literally means “to bind up” and it binds you in a system of pretence and condemnation towards your self and the world around you. For those who are weaker in their emotions, this leads to a life of self-loathing and never feeling good enough. The thoughts that plague the mind are: “if only I could…,” “I should have…;” “I need to try harder to….” Meanwhile those with a stronger psyche, while knowing their own inconsistencies and failures, still see themselves as stronger than others. No matter what failure they see in their own souls, they take courage in the fact that they are not as sinful as others. The logic may sound like this: “I’m not what I should be, but thank God I’m not like…” or “No one is trying as hard as me; no one is as committed.”

Religion sooner or later leads to blaming God

Religion sooner or later leads to blaming God: “I just can’t understand why God doesn’t answer my prayers. I’ve done everything I know to do: repent, fast, go to church. I just don’t understand.”
 
The purpose of the law is to make us thirsty for something better. Only when we come to the end of our own ability, exhausted, frustrated and worn out by our inadequacies, are we suddenly ready to receive grace.
 
Here is an invitation to the world: All who are worn out by your own inadequacy - Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists and Christians of all kinds - there is a better way. God, the Creator, has given undeserved, unmerited, unearned favor to you. That’s right - you get something from God for nothing; it’s totally free. Why? Because Jesus has already paid for it. No further payment is needed.
 

Who is giving to whom?

Salvation is not that we give our life to Christ.

Those, who receive this gift of grace, notice a dramatic change called salvation. Salvation is not that we give our life to Christ.  No, it’s much greater—it is Christ giving His life to us. It’s amazing how we have made even salvation legalistic: “I prayed the sinner’s prayer,” “I gave me life to Christ,” etc. God doesn’t want your life, and what could He possibly do with it? No, the miracle is that Christ’s life comes into you, and now He lives in you. Your holiness, righteousness, and new life are entirely dependent on Christ living through you. Look at these scriptures:
 
“But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption” (1 Cor. 1:30).

Your holiness, righteousness, and new life are entirely dependent on Christ living through you.

 
“For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Col. 3:3).

“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Gal. 2:20).
 

Christ Living in You

Christ is now our life. Yes, we are still in our flesh, but hidden in Him, favored by Him, and energized by His faith in us.
 
How did this happen?
By grace.
 
Undeserved: Simply put, you don’t deserve God’s goodness, and could never deserve it. The only way to receive it is as a gift of grace from God.
 
Unmerited: There is nothing in us that merits or obligates God to bless us. What seems like merits to us - our hard work, good intentions, dedication - are not merits at all.
 
Unearned: You have heard it said, “Nothing is for free.” There is a lot of truth to that statement, except when it comes to God, because with God everything is free, since Jesus’ all-inclusive sacrifice has already paid for it.
 
This is the word of reconciliation. Once you believe it, you can never be the same. Look how it affected Paul:
“But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus,
to testify to the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24).

Where we put our focus makes a huge difference in our lives.  Col. 3:1-2 encourages us, “Seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of the father. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.”

We are to set our minds on Christ - what He has done and who He is in us and for us. When we look at ourselves and others, we see lack and insufficiencies, but when we look at Him, there is neither lack nor insufficiency.

He is our righteousness, sanctification and wisdom. He is our faith, strength and ability. He is our life, hope and provider, and He is our hero! A friend of me once said, “I don’t believe in superstars. There is only one star, and He lives in each of us.” That’s true! Jesus is our Star, and since He lives in us we can all go out and make a difference in this world.

We are so glad to be able to stay in touch with you through Global Grace News. This newsletter goes to leaders and pastors all over the world. You are in our hearts, and you are important to the Lord. He will do miracles and change people’s lives through you all!

We would also like to especially welcome you who are receiving the GGN newsletter for the first time. Please be encouraged to have a look at the previous articles as well – they are all available at the GGN website.

We hereby present two short teaching articles by Steve McVey, both focusing on holding on to the Gospel and not religion.

Losing Your Religion

I lost my religion years ago and I’m doing so much better now. I’m not exaggerating to make a point. I really mean it. Sometimes people will say to me, “What do you mean when you say you lost your religion?” The answer is simple.

Tied by Religion

Understanding the true meaning of the word “religion” will help clarify my statement. The English word is taken from the Latin word relgio, originally meaning “obligation” or “bond.” It was probably derived from the verb religare, which means to “tie tight.” (Taken from The Dictionary of Word Origins, by John Ayto.)
The origin of the word “religion” explains its problem. Religion ties people up tight, obligating them to a particular set of standards and behavior. In time the word became associated with the obligation men had toward ancient gods.

Religion is a greenhouse for legalism because it focuses on duty and performance.

In modern terminology, the word denotes the idea of performing certain actions with the goal in mind of gaining divine favor. Religion is a greenhouse for legalism because it focuses on duty and performance. It puts the duty on man to reach God by his actions. It puts a bond on people, consequently leaving them in bondage.

Authentic Christianity is different from religion in many ways. A recent comment made about boxing illustrates what I mean. Somebody said, “To me, boxing is like a ballet, except there’s no music, no choreography and the dancers hit each other.” His comparison between boxing and ballet illustrates the union that exists between authentic Christianity and legalistic religion. There is none.

God’s actions are sufficient

Authentic Christianity is grounded in the Gospel. The word “gospel” means “good news.” What is the good news? It’s that we don’t have to try to reach God by our actions anymore, but that it is God’s actions that unite us to Him. It’s the good news that God has reached down to us in the person of Jesus Christ. It’s the good news that the cross and empty tomb were sufficient to cause God to tear up the score card on your life and to call the game over - with you as a winner.
All we need is to trust in the finished work of Christ. That’s it
– nothing else. The disciples once asked Jesus, “What should we do that we might work the works of God?” The answer Jesus gave sounds strange to religious ears. He said, “This is the work of God – that you believe on Him who He has sent” (John 6:28-29). Believe – that’s it.
Some might ask, “Aren’t we to do certain things?” The answer is that we will do certain things, not because we’re trying to score points with God, but because it’s a part of our spiritual DNA to produce godly works. Others may mistakenly think that we are behaving religiously, but we aren’t. We are simply acting like who we are – containers and conduits of divine life.

Do you need to lose your religion?

Religion will obligate you to work for God, but Jesus will liberate you to serve because of love.

Religion will tie you down. Jesus Christ will set you free. Religion will obligate you to work for God, but Jesus will liberate you to serve because of love. Religion will leave you exhausted. Jesus will invigorate your spirit with divine life continuously.
Yes, I lost my religion. As a result, I’ve come to know Jesus intimately. I wouldn’t trade that knowledge for all the religion in the world. I still do many things that probably look religious to others, but that’s not the case. I’m just enjoying Jesus and doing what I want (which happens to coincide with what He wants).
Do you need to lose your religion? You’ll find yourself much better off when you find your life in Christ. Go ahead, do it. Say good-bye to the bondage of being tied up by religious duty and fall into the arms of Jesus Christ. You won’t be sorry.
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Learning To Love God More

I recently heard a sermon online about lamenting the fact that Christians don’t love God the way we ought to love Him. “How do you expect to be used by God if you don’t even fully love Him?” the passionate preacher proclaimed. His message reminded me of the many sermons just like it that I used to preach, but it reminded me even more of the many years I struggled to love the Lord the way I felt I should.

The greatest commandment

It’s a sincere endeavor to love the Lord, but so often is misguided. A lawyer once came to Jesus and asked Him, “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?” Notice what the man was asking about here. He was asking about the Law. Jesus answered his question, saying, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and foremost commandment.” In response to the man’s question about the greatest law, Jesus answered that it is to love God.
 This verse has been abused many times by well meaning Christians because they fail to understand its context. It’s important to note that the man was asking Jesus about the Law. As odd as it might seem, when we believe our greatest need is to try to love God more, we set ourselves up for failure. That’s because of what the Law does to a person.
 

So if you focus on how much you should love God, that law will condemn you and cause you to be filled with a sense of guilt.

The Bible says that the Law stirs up sinful passions (See Romans 7:5). It stimulates rebellion against the very thing it demands. So if you focus on how much you should love God, that law will condemn you and cause you to be filled with a sense of guilt. It isn’t possible to love Him like we want to until we understand how much He loves us. Then, and only then, will we find love for God swelling up within our hearts.
 
Haven’t you found this to be true in your own life? When you’ve focused on loving Him more, did you feel like you were succeeding? Or did you find yourself literally praying for help to love Him more? “Lord, help me to love you more” was evidence that you knew you were falling short in that area.
 

How to love God more

The Bible says, “We love, because He first loved us.” Do you want to love God more? The key, then, is to focus on how much He loves you, not on how much you love Him at any given moment in life. The most important thing in your life isn’t to struggle to love God more. By what power can you do that? Haven’t we all struggled in that area? The secret is to begin to focus on how much your heavenly Father loves you.

focus on how much He loves you, not on how much you love Him

 
As you grow in your understanding of the great love that He has for you, you’ll find that what happens is the love within you will be awakened and motivated. In response to His love, it will grow and flourish and you’ll find yourself loving Him more and more and, for that matter, even loving everybody else around you more and more too.
 
A legalistic view on the love relationship we have with our Father shifts the focus away from His goodness and grace and puts the responsibility on us. Grace reminds us that He is the initiator and we are the responders. The Bible says that God loves us; it’s all about His love for us, and when we focus on that, instead of on our love for Him, we will discover that knowing the love of God for us becomes the catalyst for experiencing and enjoying His love in a deeper way than we have ever known. We will find that our own love for Him grows by leaps and bounds.

Introduction

Matt. 7:13-14
a) Narrow gate
b) Difficult way
c) Few find the way

Luke 13:24
a) Narrow gate
b) Difficult – they will seek to enter but will not be able

Is this a description of the New Covenant and our way to heaven? Many times it has been taught so. However, when we study this we see that those two passages of scripture refer to the Law of Moses and thereby the Old Covenant.

A. The OLD Way – the Law/Own Works

1. As we read the context of the two passages of scripture, we see that it is a description of the OLD way - saving yourself by your own works.

Matt. 7:12 says, “This is the Law and the prophets.”

Luke 13:28,34-35 says the Jews thought they would be saved because they were Jews (Abraham’s seed) and they hardened their hearts.

In Luke 13:29-30 Jesus prophesied about the new way – when the Gentiles (us) should be saved, be the first.

2. The Law as a way to salvation was
a) Extremely narrow
b) Extremely difficult
c) No one could make it

Rom 3:19-20 says that by the Law the whole world became guilty before God. By the deeds of the Law NO flesh will be justified.

Luke 18:18-27 describes how the way through the Law is more difficult than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle! With men it’s impossible! Only God could save us! Only Jesus could go through that eye of the needle. Jesus fulfilled the Law and then annulled the Law (Matt. 8:17-18). Now there is another way!

B. The New Way - Jesus

1. Not difficult, but easy!

Luke 3:4-6 is a prophecy about John, but truly about Jesus!

Illustration: A bulldozer cleared the way. Now it’s a straight, even, easy way!

Rom 4:21, Heb 10:20 A new and living way
John 14:6 I am the way
Rom 10:13 Everyone that calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved!
John 1:12 Everyone who received Him got the right to become a child of God.
John 6:37 Not be cast away!

2. Not a narrow path/way, but a highway!

Isaiah 35:8-10 A highway for the Lord! - a big road, many lines, so multitudes can walk there. (We have preached the opposite for many years!) Easy to find and easy to walk on! Even the fool shall not go astray! The devil cannot come on this way.

3. Not few, but many!

Luke 3:4-6   All flesh shall see the Lord’s salvation
Luke 2:10   Good news of great joy for all people
Rom 11:25   The fullness of the Gentiles
Luke 14:23       The house shall be full of guests
Rev 7:9   A great multitude that none can count   of all people groups, families, languages.

This will end in a crescendo of harvest. The harvest shall be brought in!!

Conclusion: The new way is a highway – easy to find and easy to walk on.

Easy to find Jesus. Easy to get help from God. Easy to become saved (in all aspects of what salvation means. This includes healing, prosperity, deliverance, wholeness, etc.). (Acts 15:19, Heb 10:20, Heb 4:16)

These days I’m thinking much about God’s prepared path. I have just experienced stepping into the prepared plan of God in a certain area even before I really started praying for it. It was such a great experience. I was amazed - and still am! What a great privilege to live a prepared life!
Eph 2:10 (amplified translation) says, “For we are God’s [own] handiwork (His workmanship), recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us [taking paths which he prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live].”
I am also reminded about the invitation Jesus gave in Matt. 11:28-30 to those of us who are weary and carry heavy burdens: Come to Me, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, for My yoke is easy and My burden is light.
When we walk yoked with Him, He takes the heavy part and we have the easy part. And all the glory goes to Him! Jesus desires us to experience more of the reality of walking yoked with Him and living the prepared life!
Enjoy the two teaching articles we bring you. We would also like to especially welcome all of you that receive this newsletter for the first time.

Some have been afraid that the message of grace is an excuse for sinning. However, the Bible shows many examples on how the message of grace is the road to a life of freedom and joy. Follow along and we will soon see that this message has a very happy ending!

The Gospels show how Jesus focused on the message of grace even before the price was paid on the cross. He couldn’t wait to reveal what was to come in the New Covenant. Then and there He preached the Lord’s Covenant of Grace.

Jesus knew that the New Covenant would be based upon His blood and the redemption on the cross, so He could just as well give them a preview because He was the Lamb of God carrying all the sins of the world.

The Lord’s Word about the New Covenant is: “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more” (Heb. 8:12).

“Their sins and lawless acts I remember no more” (Heb. 10:17).

This reminds me of a children’s song from my childhood church: “He has thrown all my sins behind His back. He will never see them again; He will never see them again! Like the east is from the west are they far from me, He will never see them again….”

This is a powerful Gospel that sets the captives free – forever!

Let us study some eye-opening situations in the ministry of Jesus - the first one in Luke 7:36-50.

She lived a sinful life…


Jesus gives us some really great sermons about this and the message must be thought-provoking for those claiming that the teaching of grace gives the freedom to live in sin. Jesus Himself showed how wrong such a thought is. It is, in fact, just the opposite!

Luke 7:36-50 gives us an impressive story about a woman who came to the house of a Pharisee. She lived a sinful life. The Pharisee, who had invited Jesus, was shocked that Jesus let her wash His feet with her tears, dry them with her hair and anoint them with fine perfume.

Simon (the Pharisee), having reasoned for himself, concluded that if this Jesus was a prophet, He would have known what sort of woman this was who touched Him. But Jesus takes this by the root and Simon truly sees that He is a prophet - Jesus had read Simon’s thoughts!

The fact is that this woman understood this grace, while the Pharisee still lived in the cold and narrow corridor of his religion’s rituals and acts. That is why Jesus used the opportunity to preach the Gospel for him. Why did Jesus accept being adored by this sinful woman? Simply because she had received His grace and had understood how fully she was forgiven. That is why she worshiped Jesus with her tears and her expensive perfume!

The story Jesus tells to Simon in order to illustrate His message is that two men were in debt to a money-lender. One owed five hundred denarii, the other fifty. But the good news was that when “neither of them had the money to pay him back, he cancelled the debts of both.” Let us first mediate on this for a while, for this is a wonderful Gospel!

Since they didn’t have the money to pay him back, he cancelled the debts of both
This is the simple message of the Gospel! “Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he cancelled the debts of both” (Luke 7:42).

This is the story of every man. The entire world stood guilty before God; no one could be saved by way of their own works. Big and small sinners were fully dependent upon grace!

Hear what Paul says:
“Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justified 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” (Rom. 4:4-8).

God could cancel the debt of us all because Jesus has paid it! On the cross Jesus paid the price for all the sins of the world.

The powerful effect of the cross is that “now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by sacrifices of himself” (Heb. 9:26). “Because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy” (Heb. 10:14).

This is so powerful that it takes time to let it sink in.

Many sermons – same message 


Jesus preaches many sermons on this!

In John 8:8-12, the Bible tells how Jesus forgives another sinful woman - one who the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees brought to Jesus. They said: “This woman was caught in the act of adultery.”

The Law was clear: it “commanded us to stone such women.” But they knew that Jesus would show mercy, so they tried to trap Him. Can you see that the accusations from the teachers of the Law against Jesus strongly remind us of the accusations by some Bible teachers today against the teaching of grace? This ought to be a wake-up call for you!

Since the story from John 8 is so well known, we can go straight to the essence of this message - the message of Jesus is: “Neither do I condemn you!”

Here lies the power and the heart of the entire Gospel!

The ministry of condemnation


Condemnation is a product of the Law. Because we are not perfect, the demands of the Law will bring condemnation. That is why “the ministry of the letter” is called “the ministry of condemnation.” “The ministry which was engraved in letters on stone was the ministry of death” (2 Cor. 3:6-9).

This was the Ten Commandments!

The only part of the Law that was engraved on stone was the Ten Commandments. This is important to see considering that some Bible teachers say that being freed from the Law is only that we are freed from the law of ceremonies. But 2 Cor. 3:6-9 states it very clearly that the Ten Commandments are the ministry of death and the ministry of the letter. Thus, this paragraph’s entire point is that we do not have the ministry of condemnation, since we are ministers of a New Covenant!

The ministry of righteousness


The New Covenant is “the ministry of righteousness” - the righteousness of Christ Jesus. The Gospel is what reveals the righteousness by faith, that He “justifies the man who has faith in Jesus” (Rom 3:26).

This is what Jesus gives us a taste of by declaring: “Neither do I condemn you. Go now and leave your life of sin” (John 8:11). When the woman became free from all condemnation, she became free from the life she lived at the same time!

It is this truth that sets us free! The one who sins is the slave of sin. If the Son sets you free, then you are truly free! (John 8:32-36). That is why freedom begins by realizing that all condemnation is now brought to an end by the perfect sacrifice of Jesus. “Therefore, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:1).

The lost son


Luke 15 is an excellent chapter in this line of thought. Jesus preaches a sermon with three parables about all the joy in heaven every time a sinner repents.

The story of the lost son conveys the message clearly: The father has no condemnation of the son; the only condemnation is what the son has of himself. He accuses himself for the life that he has lived, while his Father is concerned only with showing forgiveness, joy and love (Luke 15:20-24).

This is in harmony with 1 John 3:19-23 where the Word teaches that our hearts may condemn us when we have done something wrong and that it may hinder our confidence in prayer. That is why it is important to have our conscience cleansed in the light of the Gospel and to be on the right track in our lives. However, the point here and now is that “whenever our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts and knows all things.”

In other words: He never condemns us, because He never remembers our sins any more. He does not account our sins since Jesus paid His sacrifice; we are cleansed once and for all and we no longer need any offering for sin. He removed the sin by His sacrifice. The most powerful element of this is that it is not only for us Christians, but for the entire world! (2 Cor. 5:19)

John writes about this and says that we shall not sin. “But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense – Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins and not only for ours, but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:1-2).

Is this an excuse for sinning? Absolutely not! Follow along and we will soon see.

The fruit of Grace is: Great love, freedom from sin and much joy


Here comes the impressive finale!
This is the result of the Gospel of the grace of God.

What happened to the woman told about in Luke 7:42-47?
The message is that because she had received so much grace, she loved Jesus more than anyone else did! Her experience of this grace made her the greatest admirer. She admired Jesus with genuine admiration, her tears and an expensive perfume. The way the Pharisee received Jesus was pathetic in comparison and many self-righteous Christians fall through completely in their worship of God in comparison to those who have tasted the fullness of grace upon grace!

What was the result of this when the woman in John 8 experienced that Jesus did not condemn her?

She and all others knew that she had failed; yes, failed greatly. However, it was the grace she met that gave the story a happy ending: “Neither do I condemn you. Go now and leave your life of sin” (John 8:11).

Freedom from a life of sin came after fully experiencing being free from condemnation.

That is why it is not true that the message of grace gives people the freedom to sin. It is completely the opposite: grace gives freedom from a life of sin!

What is preached in Luke 15?
Did the lost son want his life among the pigs back after the royal reception he received from his Father? No, and no again!

He rejoiced in the celebration and the joy and he enjoyed his rights as a son in the house. Here was a celebration, joy, music and dance, while the other son stood outside. He was the slave of the Law, staying at home, proclaiming that he had “never disobeyed your orders.” He declined to go in!

That is why the message of grace is the road to a life of freedom and joy - this message has a very happy ending!
It doesn’t matter what the son staying at home says about it.

You don’t have to wait for Christmas to walk in peace and joy. You can rejoice in spite of your circumstances because God wants you to take a throne attitude and rest while He takes care of everything else for you!

Today, Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father’s throne (Hebrews 8:1). And the Bible says that as Christ is, so are we in this world (1 John 4:17). This means that we are also seated at the Father’s right hand.

Now, being seated is a picture of rest. In the Old Testament, the priests never sat down. There were no chairs in the tabernacle of Moses or in the temple of God because their work was never finished. But Jesus sat down because His work is finished (John 19:30, Hebrews 10:11–13.) And God said to me, “Son, tell My people to have a throne attitude.” So what does it mean to have a “throne attitude?”

Having A “Throne Attitude”

Psalm 110:1–2
1The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool.” 2The Lord shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of Your enemies!

In Hebrew, the first “Lord” refers to Jehovah, or Yahweh, and the second “Lord” is Adonai. Therefore, the first verse actually reads, “Yahweh said to my Adonai….” After Jesus conquered sin and death, and rose from the dead, He returned to the Father. And the Father said, “Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool.” So Jesus’ throne attitude is to sit and expect His Father to bring all His defeated enemies under His feet.

In biblical times, defeated enemies were brought back in chains and the victorious king would sit on his throne and put his feet upon the backs of his defeated enemies as a sign of victory. Likewise, Jesus’ conquered enemies are being dragged to Him one by one, and put under His feet.

Ephesians 1:20, 22–23 (NIV)
20… He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand… 22And God placed all things under His feet and appointed Him to be head over everything for the church, 23which is His body…

We, the church, are the body of Christ, and who is the one who makes the enemies our footstool? It is not us, but God Himself! God’s Word is the truth and He keeps His Word. God is telling us to have the same throne attitude as Jesus — to rest, while He makes our enemies our footstool. So with each passing day, we have all things, including the defeated enemies of disease, poverty, depression and all kinds of curses, being put under our feet.

Enter God’s Rest

Do you want to know God’s definition of His rest? Hebrews 3 describes how the children of Israel were not allowed to enter the promised land because they doubted God’s Word. However, instead of saying “They shall not enter My promised land,” God called the promised land “My rest.”

Hebrews 3:11
11So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’

This means that what the physical land was to the children of Israel in the Old Testament is, for believers today, a land flowing with grace and rest — God’s rest! That is your inheritance today. God wants to bring you out of lack and into the land of abundance! He wants to bring you out of sickness into robust health! And this promised land is the place of His rest.

God’s Word always tells us “Fear not, fear not!” But do you know that there is only one thing the Bible tells us to fear?

Hebrews 4:1
1Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it.

In Hebrews 4:1, God tells us to fear that we don’t enter His rest. Now, many of us worry about many things and everything that God tells us not to be afraid of, we fear. But the one thing that God tells us to be afraid of, we aren’t!

Be Rest-Conscious, Not Giant-Conscious

There is another lesson that we can learn from this story. God told the children of Israel that He had come to bring them into “a land flowing with milk and honey” (Exodus 3:8). This means that the promised land was a place flowing with abundance and provision. It was also a sure promise; a statement of what God will definitely do.

However, what was the posture of God’s people when they reached Kadesh Barnea, the border between the wilderness and the promised land? They sent twelve spies into the land for forty days and chose to believe the report of the ten spies who said that the Israelites could not take the land because it was inhabited by giants from the tribe of Anak (Numbers 13:33.)

In Hebrew, the word Anak means “chain” or “neck chain.” A chain around the neck is a picture of a yoke which weighs you down. Although God had delivered the children of Israel from their taskmasters in Egypt and they were no longer slaves, they still had a slave mentality. Instead of focusing on God’s goodness and promise, the children of Israel focused on their giant problem — the Anakim — and they were weighed down with anxiety and fear.

Today, some of us still have this slave mentality. We are so focused on our “Anakim” — our problems and symptoms — instead of Jesus’ finished work on the cross, that we cannot enter our promised land of rest.

Now, I want to pose a question to you that God asked me, which I had to answer as well. Have you ever read the story of the twelve spies and asked yourself if you would side with Joshua and Caleb — the two spies who said, “Let us go immediately and take the land!” — or if you would agree with the ten spies? 

Well, the Holy Spirit says, “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, like your fathers in the wilderness” (Hebrews 3:7–9). In other words, are your problems bigger than what God is saying about your situation? Before your body is healed, before the money is in your bank account, before every problem in your life is resolved, will you believe that God will deliver you according to His Word and still walk in rest?

God wants you to have the revelation that whatever you need Him to do for you has already been done because Jesus has accomplished all for you. And God is asking, “In spite of the giants, would you go up and enter the promised land of My rest? Can you be rest-conscious, rather than giant-conscious?”

When You Rest, He Works

What happens when you become rest-conscious? Let’s look at this secret hidden in the story of how Jesus healed a man who had been suffering from an infirmity for 38 years.

John 5:8–9
8Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.” 9And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked. And that day was the Sabbath.

I asked the Lord why He asked the man to take up his bed. Why not just ask him to rise and walk? And He showed me that the bed is a picture of rest. So what Jesus was actually saying to the man was, “Rise, take up your rest and walk!”

Notice that the day was the Sabbath, the day of rest? Therefore, what God is saying is that when you rest, He works! Isn’t this amazing?

Yet, there was a group of people who were unhappy that the Lord had healed this man.

John 5:10–12, 16
10The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, “It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed.” 11He answered them, “He who made me well said to me, ‘Take up your bed and walk.’” 12Then they asked him, “Who is the Man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?”... 16For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath.

The religious people were upset because it was the Sabbath. They saw healing as work. To them, healing the man on a day of rest meant that Jesus was working on the wrong day!

Now, if you had known this man, wouldn’t you ask him, “Hey, what happened to you? How did you get cured?” Instead, the people he met said, “It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed.” Look, this man hadn’t walked in 38 years! But the people around him were only concerned that he had carried his bed on the day of rest. This is how religious people are: they cannot see the blessings, only the problems.

The last phrase “had done these things on the Sabbath” in the original Greek is in the imperfect tense. The imperfect tense generally represents continual or repeated action. This means that it was a habit for Jesus to heal on the Sabbath and He had repeatedly performed such miracles on the Sabbath — on the day that man rests, God is able to work!

Your Healing Is In The Rest

Another example is the healing of a woman who was bowed down for eighteen years. When Jesus healed her in the synagogue, the ruler of the synagogue, the woman’s pastor, said, “There are six days on which men ought to work; therefore come and be healed on them, and not on the Sabbath day” (Luke 13:14).
What was Jesus’ response?

Luke 13:15–16
15The Lord then answered him and said, “Hypocrite! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it? 16So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound — think of it — for 18 years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?”

Jesus said that her healing came just by being a daughter, a child of God. But some Christians still think that healing is man’s work, not God’s work. They go around thinking, “I’m not doing enough, that’s why I’m not healed.” They cannot believe that healing can be as simple as being at rest in God’s finished work, saying and believing, “Lord Jesus, as You are free from every disease and sickness, so am I in this world.”

Did you know that even the words “healed” and “relaxed” are linked in Hebrew? One of the Hebrew names of God is Jehovah-Rapha which means “I, the Lord, am your healing” (Exodus 15:26). The Hebrew word rapha not only means “to heal,” but one of its root definitions also means “the relaxed.” So healing comes by being at rest, not by working. Jesus’ death has given us life and wholeness.

Seek Rest First That It May Be Well

God does not say, “Wait until all your enemies have been destroyed, until every problem in your life has been resolved, then you can rest.” He says, “Rest first until I make all your enemies your footstool.”

What do you see when it comes to healing for a condition in your sick body or breakthrough for your financial challenges? Do you see lack and say, “Let me get out of this situation first. Let me hear the doctors’ reports say that everything is clear, and then I can rest?”

We find it hard to rest because our human nature is inclined towards worry and restlessness. The devil loves to see human nature reign in the church and to have you believe that you can only rest when things go well or when you see your breakthrough. Stop saying, “When my child finishes primary school, I will stop worrying and rest.” You know what? After primary school, there is secondary school. Then, after your child completes secondary school, you will say, “I think when my child finishes university, then I will rest.” And you will never rest!

I want to share about two women who faced a financial situation during a time of famine. Now, Naomi was a woman of God and this is what she said to her daughter-in-law Ruth.

Ruth 3:1 (KJV)
1… My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee?

In other words, Naomi told Ruth, “Shall I not seek rest for you, so that things will go well for you?” Isn’t it strange that Naomi mentioned rest first? Isn’t human nature more inclined to say, “Shall I not seek for things to go well with you, so that you can rest?”

But God wants His nature to reign and He loves you so much that He says, “You are already seated on the throne. You rest first. Sit down until I put the conquered enemies — that financial situation, that symptom in your body — under your feet.”

God wants you to find rest in the midst of the storm. And when you rest in Him, things will go well. This doesn’t mean that there are no enemies. But you will rule in the midst of your enemies! (Psalm 110:2)

Psalm 23:5 says that God prepares a table for you in the presence, not the absence, of your enemies. Some of you may say, “Lord, how can you expect me to eat now? The symptoms are still in my body! My bank account still shows the lack! Lord, I will eat well and I will celebrate when all my problems are resolved.” But the Bible says God doesn’t follow human nature. God says, “I will prepare a table. You eat first! You eat in the presence of your enemies, and I will take care of your enemies for you.”

Don’t Postpone Your Rest

Isaiah 53 describes Jesus’ suffering and what He accomplished for us on the cross. It says that He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. He was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities, and by His stripes, we are healed!

The reason we can rest and rejoice in the midst of our enemies is because Jesus defeated them when He took our place and bore our sins on the cross. He has done it all and the work is finished (Hebrews 10:12–14.) We only need to take up a throne attitude and rest in Him.

So, as we are resting in His finished work, what should our response be? How do we partake of all that Jesus has done? Right after Isaiah 53, the scripture says:

Isaiah 54:1–3
1“Sing, O barren, you who have not borne! Break forth into singing, and cry aloud, you who have not laboured with child! For more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married woman… 
2Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings; do not spare; lengthen your cords… 3For you shall expand to the right and to the left, and your descendants will inherit the nations…

Jesus has defeated the enemies and God is telling the barren woman to rejoice! The barren woman is a picture of someone who has not seen results, signs of health in her body or signs of abundance in her situation. Being barren is a picture of the curse.

The Word says that God never meant for us to be barren. God blessed man and told him to be fruitful (Genesis 9:7). So in Isaiah 54, God is saying, “Sing now, and prepare for your blessing! Enlarge your tent and prepare for growth! Do not spare; expand your territory and your descendants will inherit the nations.”

Imagine you are a barren woman singing, “Hallelujah! I’m a mother of many! The Lord loves me!” The devil will come and say to you, “A mother of many? Where is your child? Aren’t you a hypocrite?” But don’t stop rejoicing. God wants you to enjoy life before the problem is resolved. Start singing even before you see the manifestation. Stop postponing your joy and peace. Stop waiting for Christmas to celebrate. Make every day a celebration of life, and learn to rest in the midst of your problems.

It should be a daily response to go to Jesus for our rest. Jesus Himself tells us to come to Him and He will give us rest.

Matthew 11:28
28Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Whenever you are heavy laden with worries or cares, weighed down by the yoke of the Law or religion, or in the midst of any enemy that is weighing you down, go to Jesus and you will find your rest in Him. Rejoice, sit down, and prop your feet up, because God has promised that He will take care of your enemies and make them your footstool!

After the Resurrection people did not recognize Jesus until He revealed to them who He was. Jesus wants us too to know Him as the risen Jesus.

“Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Cor. 5:16-17).

“A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also. At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.” (John 14:19:20).

To know Christ after the resurrection is a fantastic dimension of being born-again. John 14:20 reveals that Jesus is not only speaking about the immediate appearance that happened during the forty days between the resurrection and the ascension. But here He is speaking about us “seeing Him” when we live under the New Covenant - “in that day” when the Spirit has come and Jesus has ascended to heaven. 

2 Cor. 5:16-17 makes this even clearer. Paul speaks about knowing Christ in another way than what they had - those who had known Him according to the flesh.

Jesus promises to manifest Himself to those who love Him (John 14:21). And therefore we can say that, “truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:3).

The Resurrection

Without the resurrection our faith is nothing.
“And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty” (1 Cor. 15:14).

“And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished” (1 Cor. 15:17-18.

The resurrection is central in the faith that saves.
“If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Rom. 10:9).

It is in the resurrection that Jesus is declared to be the Son of God with power

Tradition has not given the resurrection the right attention. Many people have not understood that we are born anew through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (1 Pet. 1:3).
It was in the resurrection that Jesus became the firstborn among many brethren (Rom. 8:19).
It is in the resurrection that Jesus is declared to be the Son of God with power (Rom. 1:4).
It is when the resurrection takes place that this Word is fulfilled:
“You are My Son, Today I have begotten You” (Acts 13:33 and Heb. 1:5).

It is in the resurrection that we were “created in Christ Jesus.” The new creation is directly connected to the resurrection.

Jesus of the 40 Days

It is exciting to study Jesus during the forty days after the resurrection before the ascension.

Those who used to know Him in the flesh did not recognize Him anymore. That is because one could not know Him in that way any longer (2 Cor. 4:16). So the world saw Jesus the last time when He hung on the cross. Those who lived and moved in the physical, human realm did not see Him anymore.

He had risen with a physical body, but it was a glorious body. This is why they did not recognize Him.

Mary thought it was the gardener. The two travelling to Emmaus thought He was an ignorant stranger, and the disciples wanted to ask Him, “Who are you?” when they met Him at the seashore.

Revelation was a must to recognize Jesus after the resurrection.

Revelation was a must to recognize Jesus after the resurrection. Suddenly Mary saw that it was the Master. Suddenly the eyes of the two travelling to Emmaus were opened and they saw it was He. And John said when He saw Jesus on the shore, “It is the Lord!”

An Example To Us

Catch this glorious revelation:
when Jesus showed up in the garden at the tomb, He showed up as a normal person. He pretended to be a gardener. At a certain point He revealed who He really was. When He walked with the “Emmaus disciples,” He pretended to be an ignorant stranger, but He expounded to them on all the Scriptures.

At the seashore He grilled fish, and appeared to be a normal man in charge of the barbeque—a role most men can relate to.

But in reality He was the Son of God!

At the right moment He revealed to them who He was.

At the right moment He revealed to them who He was. This is a hint to us in how we can practice to live as people of God here in this world. We are the children of God; we have been raised with Him and are seated with Him in heavenly places. It is no longer we who live, but Christ lives in us. We are as He is in the midst of this world.

But we have to pretend that we are completely normal human beings! We must not be too quick to disclose who we really are. We have to act like a normal gardener, a normal person barbequing, and an interested listener to news being told.

Then the right opportunity will be given for you to reveal who you really are!

To Know the Risen One

Jesus wants us to know Him as the risen Jesus! He is no longer on the cross. Those who have not gotten hold of the resurrection only carry a crucifix with a dead Jesus on it.

We know that He lives, and we see Him; because He lives, we live!  There is communication and contact in the land of the living. The Holy Spirit will introduce you to the Risen One. It changes your life.

You will discover what it means when the Spirit, who raised Jesus from the dead, dwells in you. He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you (Rom. 8:11).

You will discover that the life of Jesus is revealed in your mortal body. It gives vitality, health, and energy in a supernatural way. Jesus lives in you.

Healing

It is the power of the resurrection that gives life to our mortal bodies through His Spirit.

The faith in the Risen One heals the sick.
It was the fact that Jesus had risen from the dead that healed the lame man in Jerusalem (Acts 3:16 and 4:7-12). It is when the life of Jesus is revealed in our mortal bodies that the healing anointing flows. It is the power of the resurrection that gives life to our mortal bodies through His Spirit. It is all about being conscious of the Risen One.

Personal

Dr. T.L. Osborn explains that what changed his life and ministry was meeting the risen Jesus.

He tells that he saw Jesus in the ministry of another man. A man who performed signs and wonders in the name of Jesus opened his eyes to the living Jesus.
Then Jesus revealed Himself to him. Jesus stood in his room from about 6:00 a.m. in the morning. Dr. T.L. Osborn says, “When you get to see Jesus, you will never be the same again.” And, last but not least, he saw Him in His Word.

Paul is again and again testifying about his meeting with the risen Jesus.

I am so happy that I met the living Son of God. On January 29, 1970 He revealed Himself to me over the rooftops in a small town in Norway, and I got a firsthand experience that He is the One baptizing in the Holy Spirit.

Since that time I have lived with the consciousness that He lives in me. He lives His life through me, and His life is revealed in my body.

When you meet the Risen One, you will never be the same again!

“God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble.” This was the kind of scripture I would not do without, especially when I wanted to really pin people down based on what they hadn’t done in order to be accepted by God. Anything that made people feel inadequate and inferior was like a great revelation that I often shared.

Struggling to be worthy

What humbleness meant to me was all about how it looked from the outward. What grace meant to me was so limited; it was just about the ability to endure trouble. I would sometimes relate this to moments of worship where people sobbed and cried, and looked like they were just so desperate. In this way I would teach on worship and, of course, quote some Psalms of David like “I am desperate for you lord” and such. Each time people looked desperate in a way it seemed like this was a clear sign of the perfect glory of God manifested among us. The more I made it hard for people, the more I felt like I was true to the “gospel.’’

What grace meant to me was so limited; it was just about the ability to endure trouble.

It made it worse when times, situations or moments in life became tough for people. One could easily relate to the feeling that God prepares people the hard way. Sometimes we would relate the things we’ve gone through to the manifestation of the glory of God in our lives. No wonder many like me are sometimes found ensnared by these dangerous thoughts - thinking that the anointing of God in our lives is directly proportional to what we had done and encountered in life. Like if we had gone through hardships in life, we would get a stronger anointing.

Having been born in a preacher’s family, I have seen the struggles of my parents while we grew up .We would go without food and school fees. Being the firstborn in this kind of setting was never easy. Sometimes I would be handed over to family friends because my parents just couldn’t afford the expenses. My health would deteriorate because of food deficiency diseases and being bitten by Gingers all over my feet and hands. All of this was like another great gauge for the worthy vessel of being God’s servant – no place to sleep except in the same shade with the goats; no blanket to cover with except sisal sack that worked as my sheet and blanket at the same time.

I actually thought one earns a right to be used by God based on what they had done, seen or gone through.

Well, when you have such a background and are now used by God, it’s easy to think that you have gone through all that it takes to be made a true servant of God. This is how I felt. I always felt like other people had not gone through enough where they could be used by God, or maybe that they had just not paid a real price. I actually thought one earns a right to be used by God based on what they had done, seen or gone through. In other words, it’s just like saying God squeezes people to nothing in order to have them carry His message. No wonder some people brag of their life in Jesus in relation to what they have done. I thought I had paid a high enough price so, therefore, I would use phrases like “If you want to walk in the same anointing like I do, you must go through what I went through.”  I believed the lie that ‘The anointing doesn’t come easily; you must work for it.”

What Jesus HAS done

This is how I lived until the mystery of the Gospel was shown to me. It is the Gospel that helped me find my identity in Christ. My own works and my experience would no longer be a measure of my holiness or righteousness.
The Gospel, meaning “the good news of what Jesus has done,” helped me realize that the essence of yielding to Christ is totally based on His grace revealed by love and goodness through the generations. Many people think it’s all about how you work, how you talk and how you behave. But this basically means SELF DEPENDENCE.

I can now enjoy serving at rest in what Jesus has already done.

Trying to do things on our own always denies us the opportunity to yield when issues of life storm against our desires. I then realized the Gospel is vital, for it is not about the power without but the power within that flows to the outward. The life of Jesus working through us is all in all to help us do every good work. It is in Christ that I found the opportunity to yield and more so the ability to yield. To me this is nothing but grace where nothing of my own can stand as a price, for it is all about what He has done. God has given us an opportunity to depend on Jesus and He has also provided help to enable us to depend on Christ by His Spirit (2 Cor. 3:5-6).

Ministry without struggle

I now enjoy ministry more than ever. Ministry has become easier and without struggle. I can now enjoy serving at rest in what Jesus has already done. The burden of Christ is light and easy to carry. Even so in the ministry of reconciliation - it’s not about what people have done but what Christ has done. God is not manipulating us to humility or forcing us to yield, but His goodness and mercy revealed to us and through us teaches us to walk hand in hand with Him throughout life.

None of the things I thought could stand as a price compares to what JESUS has DONE.

More often I would think He was behind circumstances of life, like when I faced issues of poverty, relationship breakdowns and such. I would often think He wanted me to pay for His anointing, and I was looking for what I would have to do. The Gospel, as the power of God leading to salvation, reveals something so different. The price He paid on the cross is exceedingly incomparable. None of the things I thought could stand as a price compares to what JESUS has DONE. This is what brings about true change – the knowledge of who Jesus is and what He has done.

Knowing Christ is, therefore, based on Christ alone - not our works and deeds whether good or bad.

Paul warns about disobedience. But what does it mean to obey the Lord? Let’s have a new look at the good news about obedience!

Obedience has certainly been the topic of many sermons over the years.  From fire and brimstone threats for disobedience, to promises of great reward for those who obey, preachers have proclaimed their views concerning obedience to God’s Word.

Is it important to obey God’s Word?  Certainly it is.  But what is the word from God that we are to obey?

Israel’s disobedience

In Hebrews 3 we read a reflection upon part of Israel’s history which was first recorded in Numbers 13 and 14.  During the time of Moses, God told Israel that He would enable them to enter the Promised Land by giving them victory over the nations that opposed them.  The people, however, after hearing what they perceived to be a terrifying report about the strength of the other nations, refused to enter the land.  In spite of God’s promise and unlimited ability, Israel refused to trust His Word.  Consider the result of Israel’s lack of trust:

“…to whom did He (God) swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief” (Hebrews 3:18-19).

God equates unbelief with disobedience

The first thing we need to note is that God equates unbelief with disobedience.  For Israel, not trusting in God’s promise and ability was disobedience. 

Now what about us?  The usual sermon about obedience includes commandments that the preacher thinks the people are not obeying.  But in light of God equating belief with obedience, our actions are not the first place where obedience must occur. 

our actions are not the first place where obedience must occur

Where then does obedience begin? Actually, it is the same place where everything in our relationship with God begins - THE GOSPEL!

Believing is obeying

The earliest recorded message we have from Jesus’ ministry is found in Mark 1:15: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand.  Repent, and believe in the gospel.”  Now go back to Hebrews.  We noted earlier that, because of unbelief/disobedience, Israel did not enter the Promised Land and the corresponding rest from their enemies that God had promised.  Well, in the same context, God went on to say that His rest is still available to people, and “we who have believed do enter that rest” (Hebrews 4:3). 

When we believe the Gospel, we are obeying God.

Believed what? The Gospel of the Lord Jesus.  In fact we are exhorted to “be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the
same example of disobedience” (Hebrews 4:11).  If Israel’s unbelief was called disobedience, then belief on their part would have been obedience.  The same is true for you and me today.  When we believe the Gospel, we are obeying God.  To not believe the Gospel is disobedience just like Israel exhibited.

Obeying the Truth of the Gospel

Consider the Galatians when Paul wrote to address a drastic problem.  They had received the Gospel; they had received the freedom of Christ and were in fact “running well” (Galatians 5:7a).  But something happened - they had come under the influence of religion.  They had been “bewitched” into mixing Jesus (grace) with human performance (legalism).  And what did Paul have to say about it? “Who hindered you from obeying the truth?” (Galatians 5:7b).  If the Galatians were not obeying, they must have been disobeying.  And what were they disobeying? The truth of the Gospel.  Paul did not write to them about any commandments they were violating, or any traditions they weren’t keeping.  He wrote to them about standing “in the liberty by which Christ has made us free” (Galatians 5:1).  For the Galatians, and for us today, obeying God was and is a matter of believing the Gospel.  Christ has put away our sin; He alone is our righteousness. He lives in us and we are one with Him.  Obey God! How?  By following a list of commandments? No.  By believing the Gospel of the grace of God.

trusting solely in the Gospel of the Lord Jesus and acknowledging His presence within us will never inspire us to sin

Now, what I have just shared might make some people a bit nervous.  So I will share this thought:  trusting solely in the Gospel of the Lord Jesus and acknowledging His presence within us will never inspire us to sin.  Instead, the more we consider Jesus and grow in our understanding of Him, the more responsive we will be to Him at every moment of every day.  And Jesus will always lead us in the way that is right.

Consider the subject of forgiveness, for example.  The majority of Christian people in the world today would agree that it is important for us to forgive other people when we feel that we have been wronged.  I certainly agree with that belief. In fact, unforgiveness on my part would be equally damaging, if not more so to me than it would be to the person I was refusing to forgive. Forgiving others is certainly an important part of our lives.  And the Gospel is our source of help when we need to forgive: “… as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do” (Colossians 3:12-13).  What will help us forgive others?  Believing (i.e. obeying) the good news that God, in Christ, has forgiven us.

We can apply the same truth to every aspect of our lives.  The Gospel declares that you are righteous in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:21, Romans 5:17).  Therefore, believe that because of Jesus your relationship with God is perfect and unbroken.  Nothing you do can make God stop loving you, and there is nothing you need to do to improve your relationship with Him.  He loves you.  He is ever present with you.  He has made all things right between you and Him.  Relax and enjoy the fellowship of the Lord Jesus.

The Gospel declares that by the stripes Jesus bore on His body you have been healed (1 Peter 2:24).  Therefore, live as a person who has been healed and made whole.

The Gospel declares that God, through Jesus, has reconciled the world to Himself and He is not holding people’s sins against them (2 Corinthians 5:19).  Therefore, we have no need to be critical of people who have yet to trust in Jesus.  Instead we are ambassadors for God with a good news invitation to deliver to every person.

Jesus will always lead us in the way that is right and enable us to live in that way.

Is it important to obey God? Absolutely.  Therefore, believe the Gospel!

Welcome to the start of a new, prosperous year with Global Grace News! We are grateful to realize that increasingly more fellow laborers in Christ are joining GGN. Every teaching article on this website will point us towards Jesus, and remind us of what we already have in Him. It is important for all of us to succeed and flourish in life, and our desire at GGN is to share with you the gems we have discovered from the Word of God.

Your heart is your inward person - your spirit and soul in combination. A life is much like a tree; the root is the heart and the fruit depicts life’s situations and circumstances. Just as when we eat the fruit of the tree, it tastes sweet or sour, so do the circumstances of our life. In His teaching about the heart Jesus says: “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things” (Matthew 12:35).

“Treasure” denotes something hidden. Jesus’ message is obvious - good or evil things can be hidden in the heart, and whatever is in the heart affects our life. If we want a good life, we need to make sure that our heart has a good treasure.

We know our thoughts are important, but what makes us think what we think – our heart. Look at this sequence:

Programming > Thoughts > Words > Action > Results

All of us want good results, but good results are preceded by positive actions. Fruitful actions are preceded by wise words, which in turn are preceded by godly thoughts. The thoughts, however, are the result of the programming in our hearts. In the light of God’s Word, the way our heart is programmed determines our life.

God’s people can prosper even when the world is speaking defeat, negativity and collapse. The worst of times become the best of times with God! Make sure your heart is filled with a good treasure. With God, these are the best of times for you!

God bless you,

Peter Youngren

Some of the first recorded words of Jesus are “Repent and believe in the Gospel.” The words repent and believe are here put together. Why is that? It is because repentance has to do with our thinking, with our believing.  Strong’s Concordance explains the word repentance as “to think differently” or “to reconsider”.

Just think about it: The Jews had to undergo a major change in their belief; from putting their trust in the Law and the Old Covenant systems to start believing in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the New and Living Way. All the old systems would now be replaced with Jesus! He is the fulfilment of the Law, He is the Blessing promised, He is the New and living way, He is the Source of life in us, etc. True CHRISTianity is ALL about what Jesus has already done and what He is doing today in and through His Believers.

The vision of Global Grace News is to help the Church to rediscover Jesus Christ and to take this message to the world.

Enjoy your Christmas season and be reminded that “CHRIST in you is the hope of glory.”

The “promised land” that God gave to Israel is a picture of our life in Christ. We find the cities of Hebron, Kirjath Sepher and Timnath Serah. Let’s together discover what they symbolize.

In many Christian songs and sermons the Promised Land has been depicted as heaven. This cannot be so, because in heaven there are neither enemies, nor sin and backsliding. What does the “promised land” mean for us?

The Promised Land symbolizes a spiritual reality here and now.

When Israel entered Canaan, their Promised Land, this was a landmark victory - what they had longed for, they now possessed. We, too, come to an experience when, “Old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Cor. 5:17).

The Promised Land is a place of spiritual rest.

To live a New Covenant life means an end to the pursuit and chasing of elusive spiritual dreams and never quite receiving them.

Our rest is not in a geographical land, but in Jesus Himself. To live a New Covenant life means an end to the pursuit and chasing of elusive spiritual dreams and never quite receiving them. Many spend years looking for blessings, deliverances, joys and glory, not recognizing that we already have received these in Christ. Spiritual rest is in the realization that what we pray and hope for we already have in and through Jesus Christ. The finished work of Christ really is finished. This discovery gives us the power to live the life that Jesus provided for us.

The Promised Land is very personal.

Each tribe, family, and individual in Israel had their own geographical place within the overall inheritance. There was a personal inheritance for each one. Similarly, there is a personal inheritance for each one of us in Christ. Yet that personal inheritance of victory and blessing in Christ always fits in with God’s overall plan for all His people.

The “promised land” that God gave to Israel is a picture of our life in Christ. We find the cities of Hebron, Kirjath Sepher and Timnath Serah.

Hebron: The City of the Father’s Love.

“Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb…” (Joshua 14:14). Hebron was important militarily because of its high elevation. Caleb set his heart on this choice region as his inheritance. He had waited for forty years in the wilderness while his contemporaries died. Before Caleb finally laid claim to Hebron, he fought four more years with the Israelites so that each tribe could take their inheritance. Caleb wanted it because it was the highest and best in the land. Some people settle for the good, others for the better, and then there are those who want God’s very best - the “perfect will of God” (Romans 12:12) and to “fulfil every good purpose of God” (2 Thess 1:11).

Hebron literally means “the loving friend.” Caleb, who is a picture of enduring faith, lived in Hebron, which shows the connection between faith and love, because “faith works by love.” Caleb had held on in faith for forty years, foreshadowing the faith that works through Jesus (Acts 3:16).

If even a small part of the weight of the Law of Moses had been applied to Abraham and David, they would both have been stoned to death.

Before Caleb, Hebron had been the city of Abraham, God’s friend, and later on it would become the city of David, the man after God’s own heart. Both Abraham and David were flawed individuals. If even a small part of the weight of the Law of Moses had been applied to Abraham and David, they would both have been stoned to death. Because of love and faith, they instead become types of new covenant believers who receive the grace of God. Abraham and David did not get what they deserved, just as we don’t get what we deserve, but what Jesus has provided.

The mind of Christ.

The city of Kirjath Sepher, conquered by Othniel, speaks of the mind of Christ in us. We read, “Caleb said, “He who attacks Kirjath Sepher and takes it, to him I will give Achsah my daughter as wife.” So Othniel… took it; and he gave him Achsah his daughter as wife.  Now it was so, when she came to him, that she persuaded him to ask her father for a field. So she dismounted from her donkey, and Caleb said to her, “What do you wish?”  She answered, “Give me a blessing; since you have given me land in the South, give me also springs of water.” So he gave her the upper springs and the lower springs” (Joshua 15:16-19).

The literal meaning of Kirjath Sepher is “The City of the Book.” The city was also called Debir, which means “The Speaker.” Here we see a picture how the Word of God affects our thoughts and speech. Before Christ, all we knew was either the legalistic requirements of religion, or the wisdom of this world, but now we have received the mind of Christ.  Othniel, which means “the Lion of God” is also a beautiful picture of Jesus Christ, the lion of Judah living within us.

When we come to God because of the finished work of Christ, the blessing we receive is even greater than what we anticipated.

Achsah, Caleb’s daughter, is a picture of grace. She asked her husband to pursue great things, just like grace causes us to believe for God’s best. Grace doesn’t make us lazy. On the contrary we become energetic because we see Him, who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ask or think (Eph 3:20). Othniel received a rich inheritance because of Achsah (grace), just like the grace of God causes us to inherit what Jesus has provided. When Achsah makes her request, she steps down from her donkey, lowering herself. God always gives grace to the humble. In the end, her father gave her more than she asked for. That’s how grace works. When we come to God because of the finished work of Christ, the blessing we receive is even greater than what we anticipated.

While some people think that the receiving only belongs to a few, John writes, “And of his fullness we have all received and grace for grace” (John 1:16). Notice it doesn’t say that some have received and others are still seeking to receive. No, we have “all received.” Why? Because of Jesus.

Both Achsah and Othniel were thinking big and received big, foreshadowing the mind of Christ, which makes us think bigger and receive bigger than we ever dreamed possible.

Jesus Himself.

The third city is Timnath Serah, the City of the Sun, which is a picture of Jesus Himself. “… the children of Israel gave an inheritance among them to … According to the word of the LORD they gave him the city which he asked for, Timnath Serah in the mountains of Ephraim; and he built the city and dwelt in it” (Joshua 19:49-50).

It is by knowing the width and the length and the depth of that love that we “may be filled with all the fullness of God”

Timnath Serah, the last of these three special inheritances, was to be Joshua’s home. The city depicts Jesus Himself, the son of righteousness, who is “all and in all.” The sun guides our steps, just as Jesus said that those who follow Him will never walk in darkness, but rather have continual direction (John 8:12). The sun provides life and power; without it we have no life at all, and without Jesus we can do nothing. The sun gives warmth, a picture of God’s kindness and love. It is by knowing the width and the length and the depth of that love that we “may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Eph 3:19). The sun gives healing. No wonder Jesus is prophesied to be the “Sun of Righteousness with healing in his wings” (Malachi 4:2). The natural sun is a healer - so much more, the Son of God. The city of the sun has no clouds. This speaks of unbroken communion with Jesus where there is no “shadow of turning in Him” (James 1:17). We read in Isaiah 60:20, “Your sun shall no longer go down, Nor shall your moon withdraw itself; For the LORD will be your everlasting light, And the days of your mourning shall be ended.”

Because the sins of the world have fallen on Jesus, we have the possibility of unbroken communion with God. Joshua built the city of Timnath Serah because he planned to live there. We live in the city of the sun. Jesus Christ is our place of dwelling.

Make sure Jesus is not your summer cottage but your permanent place.

Often people say “we must enter God’s presence” or “spend time with the Lord” which indicates that we are spending time with Jesus, and then time without Jesus. Timnath Serah is a picture of the continual life and presence of Jesus Christ. Joshua didn’t only plan to live in Timnath Serah, he actually did. Sometimes people make plans to walk with Jesus, but instead, what was meant to be a permanent dwelling place becomes like a summer cottage. Make sure Jesus is not your summer cottage but your permanent place.

Jesus told His disciples that the Books of Moses, the prophets and all the Psalms spoke of Him. In Joshua we discover many beautiful pictures of who Jesus is and wants to be in each one of us. Christ in you, the hope of Glory. These three choice inheritances remind us of Christ’s love, His mind in us and that He is our daily sustainer.

Our life with the Lord should be restful. So how can we serve the Lord and still be restful?

We, who are in this New Covenant that God has given us through Jesus Christ, have the opportunity to live a restful, stress-free life with God.  For many people this truth seems so far away because of the chaos in and around their lives.  Jesus still brings peace to the storms of life.  There is a genuine, tangible rest for the people of God!  Unbelief brings stress and restlessness, but believing in the finished work of Christ brings rest.

Unbelief brings stress and restlessness, but believing in the finished work of Christ brings rest.

Hebrews 4:1-4 – “Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.  For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works.”

The kingdom of heaven is ours

We can live and operate in an atmosphere where we have ceased from our own works

Our life with the Lord should be restful and not storm-tossed with the winds of adversity blowing us in all directions.  We can live and operate in an atmosphere where we have ceased from our own works (Heb. 4:9) and know that every promise of God is ours because Christ fulfilled every requirement and sat down at God’s right hand.  We can say with confidence that we know in whom we have believed and are persuaded that He is able to keep that which we have committed unto Him (2 Timothy 1:12). 
The kingdom of heaven is ours through Christ – it has been given to us.

2 Peter 1:3 – “According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue.”  Our God is a good God and He has given us every good thing required for life and godliness through Christ Jesus.  We have wisdom, peace, righteousness, and all the exceedingly precious promises in the Bible bestowed on us.

Labour to enter into His rest

Hebrews 4:11 – “Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.”  There are many stressed-out people in Christianity who have failed to understand and grasp that when we have Jesus, we have everything!  Jesus is with us every minute of every day and He is enough for our tomorrows and the future ahead of us.  Some people need to have hands laid on them with a word of prophecy, but we need to believe in the Jesus in each of us – the One who will never leave nor forsake us! 

There is a place where we can run the race set before us without getting tired and faint-hearted.

Isaiah 40:29-31 – “He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”  There is a place where we can run the race set before us without getting tired and faint-hearted.  In 1 Corinthians 15:10 Paul states that he “laboured more abundantly than they all” but it was the “grace of God which was with me.”  His approach to ministry was in a place of rest where the work was enabled by the Lord.  Jesus completed the “works which the Father hath given me to finish” (John 5:36).  He said and did what the Father told and gave Him to do and rested on that reality.  He knew the path the Father had for Him to follow and rested in the outcome of everything laid before Him.

His approach to ministry was in a place of rest where the work was enabled by the Lord.

Ephesians 2:10 – “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”  We need to be going forward in the things that are prepared for us.  We need to be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit and stay in the plan of the Father.  Give everything we are and have to the Lord and He will guide us without the stress and indecisiveness of our own making.  If we don’t have the assurance to move ahead in a decision, don’t move!  Jesus is Lord of our lives and we need to be listening to what He is saying.

We need to be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit and stay in the plan of the Father.

We are yoked with the Lord

Matthew 11:28-30 – “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”  The Christian life was intended to be a restful, stress-free life.  There is no room for burnout in ministry and in serving the Lord.  When we are truly working for Jesus, we can never get burned-out because we are not operating in our own efforts.  We are doing the work that the Lord has prepared for us; the work He has laid out for us.  What a difference when we are yoked with the Lord – He is the one who pulls the heavy load, not us!  This is the stress-free, abundant life that Jesus came to give.  The answer to stress is this:  Come and learn of me!

Too often our focus is on what we think or feel we lack. Our prayers reflect that it is so when we pray for more love, more wisdom, more peace, more anointing etc.

The Good News is that all of this is already put inside of you. It’s now a matter of believing that it’s already inside of you and then start leaning on Him who lives within.

He is our love, wisdom, and anointing, and He is our peace that surpasses all understanding. The source is already in you! “Christ in you, the hope of glory!”

“Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life… Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” (John 4:14, 7:38).

The same is true concerning healing. The healing is already inside of us, and as we believe we already have it, we will start walking in it!

Enjoy reading the two teaching articles we present this time, from Pastor David Sterling and Pastor Mike Walker. Both overcoming grace and rest already belong to you.

Send us an e-mail, we would love to hear from you. And we would be great seeing you at the GGN conference in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, 28th to 30th of January, 2010.

The rest in Jesus is for every New Covenant believer. Let’s lay hold of this promise of God.

With so much instability in the world and all the voices that speak into our lives, it is so amazing to receive the abundant grace of God in the area of rest.  At the cross Jesus paid the full price for our peace, so in our redemption we have the promise of rest.  By faith in the finished work that Jesus did at the cross, this place of rest, in reality, is total peace and victory in every area of our life and it is found in believing the Gospel!

Don’t let the enemy deceive you

Hebrews 4:1-3 – “Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it.  For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. For we who have believed do enter that rest.”

There is a rest for the people of God.  There is a place where we can live and know with an awesome assurance that God will do what He said He would do.  Everything we need for life and godliness is found in Christ and His finished work of redemption.  But because of unbelief, many people either don’t believe or can’t accept the good news of the Gospel – peace, victory, healing, prosperity, deliverance and every good thing.  The only power the enemy has over our lives is to deceive us into believing that the Gospel is not true!  Religion tells us we have to earn it, but the Gospel tells us to simply believe!

At the cross Jesus paid the full price for our peace, so in our redemption we have the promise of rest.

2 Corinthians 4:3-4 – “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:  In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” 
Ephesians 4:17-18 – “This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart.”

We don’t want to become alienated from the abundant life Jesus came to give, but we want to rest in the finished work of Christ.  Believe that He is everything necessary for complete victory in our lives because He has already won the victory, finished the work and is seated in heavenly places.  Also, he has raised us up to be seated together with Him – now that’s good news!  We have all the weapons of heaven at our disposal to capture our minds and believe the Word of God, the Gospel – “the news that’s too good to be true, yet it is true.” 

Lay hold of the promises of God

Hebrews 4:6 – “Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief.”  As I brought out in the first teaching on “Rest,” Joshua and Caleb believed the good report of the land of promise and entered in with the next generation.  But because of unbelief, there was a generation that did not enter in and died in the wilderness.  There are many disappointments that will come to fill our minds, but we fight the “good fight of faith” and lay hold of the promises of God.  We can have peace with God that passes all understanding and move forward in victory because we know the devil is under our feet.

Believe that He is everything necessary for complete victory in our lives because He has already won the victory, finished the work and is seated in heavenly places.

Ephesians 1:3 – “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.”

Ephesians 1:12-13 – “That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation….”

The Word of Truth is the good news of our salvation.  First we hear the news that is too good to be true – we are saved and victorious in every area of our life – and then we have to believe it.  It’s done, and we are resting in the finished work of Christ - free from sin, sickness, anxiety, bondage, poverty, and all the works of the devil.  This is the abundant life that Jesus came to give, and we are seated far above all principality, power, dominion, and might and every name that is named! 

Sealed by the Holy Spirit

Ephesians 1:13 goes on to say “…in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise.”  When we believe the Gospel, we are sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise.  A seal is a mark or stamp or private mark.  For example, depending on the nation we visit, when we travel overseas we have a passport that may require a visa. If we don’t have a passport, then we are not allowed to enter or leave that country. A few years ago, my wife Jane and I were on our way to Nigeria, West Africa, via London. As we came through customs at Heathrow Airport in London, a young American man had somehow misplaced his passport.  Although he argued and raised a disturbance, he was not allowed to enter but was sent back to the United States. 

Likewise, Jesus is the passport and believing is the visa!  When we hear the promise and believe the Word of Truth, we allow the seal to be put on us – forgiveness of sin, healing, provision, guidance, peace, friendship, and total victory over all the powers of the enemy!  We carry the mark of heaven on our lives by believing the Word and by believing the finished work of Christ.

2 Corinthians 1:20-22 declares that “all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen.”  We have been sealed “…and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.”  God has set His seal of ownership on us and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come! We can rest in the fact that the promises of God are for us and for now.

As well as possessing “overcoming faith” every child of God also possesses “overcoming grace.”

Grace is much, much more than “unmerited favor” as it has often been defined. Thank God, grace is most certainly His free, unmerited, unearned favor – but it is even more amazing and astounding!  The Holy Spirit desires to enlarge our capacity to understand and experience God’s grace in all possible aspects. As well as possessing “overcoming faith” every child of God also possesses “overcoming grace.” Using his own experience, Paul explains how this abundant, overcoming grace comes to us in our time of need.

Paul spoke of all that he did in serving Christ and then he added, “Not I, but the grace of God that was with me” (1 Cor. 15:10). Paul saw the grace of God as something that empowered him to lay down his life for the cause of Christ. He understood God’s grace as something that was available in his greatest time of need. He realized that God’s grace was the motivating force behind all that he had accomplished. When the angel of Satan was tormenting him, Jesus revealed that the grace of God would energize Paul to overcome the attacks of this supernatural spirit-being. (See 2 Cor. 12:7-10)

WHAT WAS THAT “THORN?”

Paul’s thorn was not sickness or some form of physical disability. This thorn in Paul’s flesh was not a natural weakness or some carnal tendency to sin. This “thorn in the flesh” was a supernatural spirit-being sent to harass him and hinder his preaching. Paul met with fierce opposition wherever he preached the uncompromising Gospel. He tells in his letters of the many sufferings he went through to take the Gospel to unreached peoples. The Lord did not tell Paul that He would not remove this devilish spirit that was attacking him as he labored in the Kingdom of God, but rather He said that “My grace is sufficient for you for my power is made perfect in weakness.”  “Paul,” Jesus was saying, “All the power you need is already yours. Your present trials are just bringing you to the end of yourself so you can discover the abundance of grace that is in you to resist and overcome these attacks. Trust in that grace to help you overcome these present challenges.” After having gone through these trials in his ministry and based on his own experiences of “overcoming grace,” Paul was able to say with great certainty to a younger minister - “You therefore Timothy my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus” (2 Tim. 2:1).

The Holy Spirit desires to enlarge our capacity to understand and experience God’s grace in all possible aspects.

BE STRONG IN THE LORD!

Grace is the anointing of the Spirit within and upon us. Grace is God’s own ability working through us. It is God’s supernatural favor to us when we least deserve it. Grace is something that is given to us as we need it. It has been said that the Law would make us “workers,” but Grace would make us “resters.”  As we recognize our weaknesses and commit them to the Lord, we find out the true meaning of being “strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.”  We are not strong in ourselves and our personal determination, but strong in His overcoming ability (grace) working through us. We become stronger through His grace that equips us to meet the challenges we face in life and ministry. His grace will never let us down or forsake us!

Paul said, “When I am weak then the anointing, ability, and grace of Christ rests upon me.”  You can be fully assured that if the power of Christ was resting on Paul, the angel of Satan was thoroughly defeated!  This “thorn in Paul’s flesh” could not stand against this overflowing grace that accompanied him!  The Holy Spirit is in you as the Spirit of Grace (Heb. 10:29). No devilish power can stand against the “Greater One” that abides in you!

He realized that God’s grace was the motivating force behind all that he had accomplished.

All the power we will ever need for victory is already in us. There is no need to ask for any “extra” power, anointing or authority. The written Word assures us that the same spirit that raised Christ from the dead also abides in our mortal bodies. Christ Himself abiding within our inner man is our “Hope of Glory.” Our great need is to learn how to cooperate with Him, the Holy Spirit, and better yield to Him.  He, who is this wonderful Spirit of Grace, is also the voice of Christ in our inner man. He is to guide us into all truth or reality. He is our personal teacher, comforter and helper. He is in us to show us the things freely given to us by God.  One of the things freely given us is His indwelling Presence!  It is time for us to become “God-inside minded.”  Living daily in God’s grace makes us more sensitive and conscious to His presence within. This is possible because of the grace of God, which is now available to us in the New Covenant!  Trust and rest in His grace! Thank Him for His grace which is always available in our time of need!

Is it possible to rest and still see miracles happen? Do the words rest and God’s power go together?  Or do we have to add words like works, self-effort, self-righteousness and paying the prize for the power of God?

We believe you will enjoy the two articles in this month’s newsletter. Pastor Tom Lipkin from Finland teaches about the simple Gospel being the Power of God, and Pastor Mike Walker from US explains how we can rest in the finished work of Jesus Christ and experience the fruits thereof.

The Gospel is the good news of what Jesus has already done! But unfortunately our focus is often on what we must do. Galatians 1:6 says, “I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another, but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ.”

When we turn away from Jesus – whom do we then turn to? Most of the time the answer is: ourselves! Have I done enough, do I deserve this, am I good enough etc. These are all wrong questions. The right questions are: Did Jesus pay the full price? Did He finish the work? Is Jesus good enough? With a ‘Yes’ to these questions we can rest in the assurance of His finished work!

Be encouraged and let the Gospel be the power of God in your life and ministry!

There is a place of rest available for every New Covenant believer: We can cease our own works and enter into the life Jesus has given us through the cross.

Rest – a word that often seems beyond the grasp of people living in a hurried, ever-pressing, stressful world.  The demands of daily life consume our time and energy, but God has assured us that there is a place of rest for the people of God.

Hebrews 4:1 – “Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.”

The demands of daily life consume our time and energy, but God has assured us that there is a place of rest for the people of God.

There is a rest for God’s people; a place in the Spirit where we can live with knowledge of the abundant life and supernatural power that Christ has given us.  There is a place of rest where we stop from our own works and enter into the life Jesus has given us through the cross.

The Promised Land

Hebrews 4:2-3 goes on to say:  “For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. For we which have believed do enter into rest…”
This text is speaking about an account in the Old Covenant found in the book of Numbers chapter 13.  We can read how the Lord spoke to the children of Israel and gave them this “promised land.”  The Lord told them to go explore and see the blessing.  So they chose twelve spies who were sent in advance to look over the land that God had promised. In their journey they discovered walled cities and giants, but also found abundance of blessings!

Ten of the spies came back with a fearful report; they did not believe the Lord had given them the land. Only Joshua and Caleb refused to believe the evil report and later entered into the land of promise – a land flowing with milk and honey or in New Covenant terms, abundance and prosperity.  Those were the two of that generation who entered into rest!

Do not believe the evil report, but believe the Gospel and enter into that place of rest, peace, prosperity and health.

This “promised land” is available for every believer; it is a land flowing with health, prosperity, and every good thing.  This “promised land” is not a location on a map, but a state of being.  It is a place in the realm of the spirit world that literally affects how we manage “life” and our state of being through the challenges that life hands out.  The life that Jesus came to give surpasses a basic, maintenance level existence that so many Christians settle for.

Believe the Gospel and enter the place of rest

This place of rest is total peace and victory in every area of our life and it is found in believing the Gospel – the news that is too good to be true, yet it is true!

John 6:28-29 – “Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?  Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.”  To enter into that place of rest we must believe the Gospel.  Believe Jesus is the Savior, the healer, the deliverer, the provider.  Believe He is our Great Shepherd leading and guiding us in every area of our daily life.  To work the works of God, we must believe!  Believe He has conquered all the powers of the enemy and that we are seated with Him in heavenly places.

There is a place of authority - a position of knowing that we know that God is with us.

We fight the good fight of faith to believe as the winds and waves of adversity rage against our life.  There are so many voices speaking in the world today - the voice of the media, the voice of circumstances, the voice of broken relationships, the voice of addictions, the voice of fear and many more.  All of them can have some kind of effect on our lives.  Some can even become so huge in our thinking that it is as though a giant is looming over our lives.

That is why it is so important to hear the voice of the good news of the Gospel! It is the news that reveals God’s incredible and immeasurable love for man in that He sent His only son, Jesus, to come from heaven to be the Redeemer of man.  As man, Jesus became the perfect, acceptable offering for the sin of mankind.  All the wrath of God for sin was poured out on Jesus!  We can rest in that reality.  Jesus paid the full price for our sin, for our peace, for our healing, provision, for our friendship, wisdom, and gave us complete and total victory over all the powers of the devil!

Seated with Him in a place of rest

There is a place of authority - a position of knowing that we know that God is with us.  We understand that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word, so once we hear the “news that is too good to be true yet it is true for my life,” embrace it, hold on to it, believe and declare it – then rest in that truth!  Do not believe the evil report, but believe the Gospel and enter into that place of rest, peace, prosperity and health.

As Joshua and Caleb entered into the land of promise with the next generation, their own generation, who did not believe and did not enter into rest, died in the wilderness.

We are seated with Him in a place of rest where we have overcome the world by faith in His finished work.

Hebrews 4:9-11 – “There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.  For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.”

Enter into what Christ has accomplished for us.  He is seated in heavenly places; He has won the victory and given it to us!  We are seated with Him in a place of rest where we have overcome the world by faith in His finished work.

Sometimes it seems like the answer is beyond our reach and that there are huge walls between victory and us.  Those giants can loom large and we feel like grasshoppers before them as our life is weighed down with problems, but that is the time to enter into the place of God’s rest. We can settle down in heart and mind and reach beyond the veil of unbelief and rest in what Christ has done – we are seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus above all principalities, all powers and every name that is named!

Matthew 11:28-30 – “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Embrace the promise of God and declare that, through Christ, that place of rest is ours. 

The apostles preached the simple Gospel of God’s love and grace through Jesus, and God confirmed His word by healing the sick. Are we today preaching the pure Gospel, or are we also preaching self-righteousness?

Is the Gospel God’s power everywhere?

Imagine a fierce sermon and a frightened crowd who feels sinful, judged and uncomfortable. Yes, sometimes a sermon can really make people frightened, worried, feel inferior, and judged.

Still, a sermon is one of the most wonderful tools God has given to the church. It can also arouse faith, hope and love. A sermon can have a liberating and refreshing effect and make the heart “bubble” with joy.

...before we even really realize it, the Law will steal from us a great deal of the freedom and joy that God has given to every believer.

The first disciples preached God’s love

The first disciples used sermons and preached the Word when introducing Jesus to people. Before Jesus was received up into heaven, He told His disciples to preach the Gospel to every creature. He Himself promised to confirm the Word if the disciples just preached it (Mark 16:20). What a magnificent dimension God set for preaching!

...there has always been a tendency to preach something other than the Gospel.

He Himself promised to confirm the preached Word.

The sermons in the Acts concentrated on God’s love towards all people through Jesus Christ. The apostles simply preached the core of the Gospel that Jesus is God’s gift and what it meant for people to receive Him and believe in His death and resurrection. Through the simple Gospel, God confirmed His word by healing the sick.

He Himself promised to confirm the preached Word.

At that time, they did not preach with a pointed finger about all the possible “faults” people might have had. They did not preach in a judging or blaming tone. They did not put burdens on people by demanding different things from them. Paul did not preach about how “horrible” the idolatry in Athens was or how “awful” a lifestyle the Corinthians had. Nor did Philip preach judgment over Samaria because of its different religions. No. The disciples simply preached Jesus. They preached God’s grace that everyone could receive. They preached God’s favor that comes upon people who receive Jesus’ grace. Jesus was the centre of everything. One’s deeds did not impress God in any way.

The consequences of preaching self-righteousness

These basic truths have never changed. Nevertheless, there has always been a tendency to preach something other than the Gospel.

In sermons we so easily set our eyes on ourselves and on all that we should do to “have revival.” The consequence of this is often only depression. We
This is what a sermon is all about. It should paint a picture of Jesus before the listener’s eyes and teach about what having Him in our lives means to us on a daily basis.

That is why Paul says: “How terrible it would be for me if I didn’t preach the Gospel!” He saw all people “crucified in Christ” and wanted to present all people as “perfect in Christ” before God. Paul knew very well that nobody was righteous. Even sanctification is a gift we receive through Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 1:30). If the focus when preaching about sanctification is on “us,” instead of it being on Christ, it easily can lead to creating guilt instead of life.

The “smallest bit” of self-righteousness must go.

When the Gospel is preached, people will be lifted up from guilt and defeat. Jesus said to a sinful woman in John 8:  “I don’t condemn you either. Go home, and from now on do not sin anymore.” The power of sin broke in that moment. When the power of sin was broken, Jesus set her free to live. Jesus is the same today, too. Through sermons and teachings, guilt and a feeling of inferiority will disappear. The power of sin will be broken. A sermon should create hope and faith and then the listener will feel Jesus’ beautiful love again. Maybe you, too, have been caught up in the trap of guilt. Let the Holy Spirit help you. His duty is not to show you your failures, but to show you how precious, loved and righteous you are in Christ regardless of your failures. Only God’s grace can break the power of sin. Grace not only takes away sin and guilt, it also makes the pressure to succeed, the self-centeredness, the habit of comparing oneself to others, and the feelings of insufficiency disappear.

...it is impossible for man to approach God if the basis for that is even just the “smallest bit” of self-righteousness.

Jesus is our example in every possible way. Some of Jesus’ first recorded words were: “Repent and believe in the gospel!” What does repenting mean? It means that we no longer try to please God with our own deeds. No matter how good these deeds are, they are called dead deeds. Instead, we are called to walk in faith. This means that we understand that every good thing we experience is a gift from God to us and a part of his wonderful grace. Jesus showed us that it is impossible for man to approach God if the basis for that is even just the “smallest bit” of self-righteousness. All blessings are to be received as a gift only.

Of course the Bible speaks about things that are right and that are wrong. In the Bible we can find lots of everyday wisdom and good pieces of advice. But the Bible is not just a moral book. All religions have a certain moral. The Bible really is, from the first pages of Genesis to the last pages of Revelation, just about one person - Jesus Christ (Luke 24:27). All preaching should lift up Jesus. That is when Jesus Himself will confirm the Gospel. Many believe that Jesus does miracles more easily in Africa or Asia. But Jesus does miracles in any place where His Gospel is being preached; in any place where “someone” receives in faith. Jesus does not discriminate against any nation. There is only someone needed who will preach and listen and Jesus will confirm His Gospel with miracles. You can be that “someone” who will preach or that “someone” who will receive.

Preaching the Gospel does not mean that all sermons should be like the ones on Easter. Nevertheless, the core of the Gospel should always be the reason for all preaching.

For years we have preached about the “small gate” and the “narrow path” that leads to heaven. However, this is not the message of the Gospel!

The narrow path is exchanged for a new and living road! For years we have preached of “the narrow path” and “the small gate” and that “few will find it” from the teaching of Jesus in Matthew 7:12-14 and Luke 13:23-40.
If we read a little closer, we will see that this describes the Law’s way to salvation. This way was not only difficult but actually completely impossible. But the message is still: “The person who does these things shall live by them.”

The way of the Law was actually narrow and salvation by works was such a small gate that few were able to get through. There were so few that there were actually NONE!

Luke 13:24 says: “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.” Why not? Because they met the stumbling block, Jesus Christ. HE is an open door and a new and living way, so by going through Him the way would have been easy. But because the Jews didn’t want to bend down under the justice of God, they sought to build their own justice. You see, it was the Jews that Jesus was talking to in these messages! (See Matt. 15:24)

If you take a closer look at Luke 13, you will find in this chapter that He speaks of the hardened hearts of the Jews and the salvation of the Gentiles. The way of works was so difficult that those who tried to achieve salvation by it were not able to.

“For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the Law.” (Gal. 3:20)

Salvation by works was completely impossible. It was a small gate and narrow path, full of statutes and laws containing both great and minor details. Not one detail could be forgotten! Therefore, Jesus had to open a NEW AND LIVING WAY when He died on the cross! By the blood of Jesus we have received a completely new way to enter into the presence of God. (Heb.10:19-20).

Jesus said: “I am the way and the truth and the life.” (John 14:6)

Paul said: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
(Rom.10:13) This is not a difficult path or a small gate.

The Crooked Path is Now Straightened Out!

Jesus came to straighten out the crooked paths that were so difficult to walk on.

Luke 3:5-6 says: “Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. And all mankind will see God’s salvation.”

Under the Law “no flesh could be justified,” while now, “all flesh will see the Lord’s salvation.” Talk about a big difference!

The way of the Law was crooked and impassable.

The way of the Law was crooked and impassable. Jesus has now, through His salvation, made the crooked places straight and the uneven roads smooth. Now all flesh can see the salvation of God!

It’s not difficult anymore. Now there is no one seeking to enter in without being able to. Salvation is finished and whoever wants to receive it will receive it for free. Whoever receives Him will be born again. “He justifies those who have faith in Jesus.” (Rom 3:26) The real tragedy in many Christian settings is that God’s Word has not been studied in this most important area. Therefore, the message of a narrow path and a small gate is still being preached. This makes the Christian walk difficult even though Jesus has said it’s easy!

Jesus said: “For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matt. 11:30)

The Apostolic gathering in Jerusalem passed a resolution to not make it difficult for the Gentiles who turned to God! (Acts: 15:19)
Still there are those who want to make it difficult, so that it only becomes a message for those especially interested. But the Word said that ALL FLESH will see the salvation of God. The angel in the fields of Bethlehem said: “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.”

A Highway, Not a Small and Crooked Path

“A voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. And all mankind will see God’s salvation.’ ” (Luke 3:4-6) This is a prophecy referring to John the Baptist, but even deeper down, it’s a prophecy referring to Jesus.

Look at this picture being drawn: The road was impassable and had to be cleared. The paths were crooked and had to be straightened. The roads were uneven and had to be smoothed out. A bulldozer had to fill in every valley and lower every high point for the roads to be smooth.

Jesus himself cleared the way, straightened out what was crooked and made the roads smooth.

Now the job is finished, Jesus himself cleared the way, straightened out what was crooked and made the roads smooth. The result is a tidy, easy, passable, and smooth way.

The Way

Therefore, it was natural that the first Christians were called ‘The Way’. For the way was now cleared and all flesh could see the salvation of God. “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God.”

The message is: “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you shall be saved.” It is about Him and not about a lot of religious acts.
The Prophet Isaiah prophesized of this way: “And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not journey on it; it will be for those who walk in that Way; wicked fools will not go about on it. No lion will be there, nor will any ferocious beast get up on it; they will not be found there. But only the redeemed will walk there, and the ransomed of the LORD will return.

This is a highway, a main road, not a narrow and crooked path.

They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.” (Is. 35:8-10) This road applies now! This is a highway, a main road, not a narrow and crooked path.

A Highway For the People of God

I grew up in the countryside and knew everything about narrow paths, those used by both men and animals in the forest and the fields. It was easy to get lost if you weren’t familiar with the surroundings. Many have surely missed some of the posts out in the woods during an orienteering run. If it’s foggy or dark, you’re pretty much lost.

But there are also roads for cars that run through the woods, like the ones used by the rally drivers during a rally-cross.

A main road runs from my hometown to the city. During the spring, that road could be both uneven and partly difficult to drive, so it feels liberating to get onto the E-6, a genuine highway. But a few Swedes will probably debate that the E-6 in Norway is not a real highway and the Germans will most likely just smile at what we call a highway.

Therefore, it’s a joy to present what the Word calls “A Highway for the Lord!” The highway the Lord has opened is straight with no turns, corners or defects!

No travelers will get lost, and the way has already taken us all the way into the Holy of Holies. (Heb.10:19-20)

By the blood on His cross, He has now joined what’s on Earth and what’s in Heaven. And in His body by death, He has presented us holy and irreproachable and perfect to Himself.
This message is totally different from the traditional message.

We have almost preached the opposite of the perfect work of Jesus.

We have almost preached the opposite of the perfect work of Jesus. We’ve preached of a narrow way and a small gate, crooked paths and uneven roads.
We’ve obviously forgotten that now the way is cleared, the valleys filled, the peaks lowered, and the crooked places straightened out. Now we have a smooth main road - A HIGHWAY FOR THE LORD’S PEOPLE. It’s easy to find and it’s easy to travel on. Even the fool will not get lost.

A highway that’s cleared, straight and even, that’s the salvation for all flesh.

Not a Few, But Many

This is not just for a few chosen anymore. Now it’s for all flesh. The starting point is that He has reconciled the world with Himself and removed all the world’s sins. The sin problem was solved by Him atoning for our sins, not just for ours but for the whole world’s sins. Jesus didn’t come to judge the world, but for the world to be saved by Him. People must hear about this reconciliation; therefore, we have the gift of reconciliation.

Because of the reconciliation, people can now receive and make use of His favor and benevolence and be restored to have His benevolence and grace.

But God has given man a free will; therefore the message is: The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come!” Whoever hears it say, “Come! Whoever is willing can come and have the water of life for free!”
This is our great mission - this is our missionary command in the light of the revelation of Paul.

no longer will few find the way and the gate; the Gentiles will arrive “in full number.”

Therefore, no longer will few find the way and the gate; the Gentiles will arrive “in full number.” (Rom. 11:25)
God has a number He’s working towards and we know He wants all men to be saved. Therefore, Jesus has not yet returned. God wants the door of salvation still to stay open. (2.Pet. 3:9 and 15)

HIS house will be FULL of guests. (Luke.22:10)

There will be a great multitude that no one can count, from every nation, tribe, people and language… (Revelations 7:9)

All generations, families, languages and dialects will be represented. God wants all men to be saved….

THANK JESUS THAT HE GAVE HIS LIFE TO OPEN A HIGHWAY. A NEW AND LIVING WAY HAS TAKEN OVER THE NARROW PATH THAT WAS BOTH CROOKED AND UNEVEN….

THIS WILL END IN A GLOBAL HARVEST FOR HEAVEN!

Answer to the age-old question describing the dilemma of all religions on the face of the earth.

There is a question in the Bible which describes the dilemma of all religions on the face of the earth - it is this: “How then can man be just with God? Or how can he who is born of a woman be clean? ” (Job 25:4). In other words, how could it be possible for a natural typical man, bound by his own sinfulness and born into a sinful world, to stand before a Holy God accepted and clean? How can an ordinary sinful person ever approach a holy and just God?

How can an ordinary sinful person ever approach a holy and just God?

To get very basic and to the point, we can say that all religions in general have one particular thing in common: they are based on what you must do to become acceptable in the eyes of God. Religion is, in a general sense, about what man must do in order to receive blessings, forgiveness, acceptance, help and answers to prayer from God. No matter whether the religion is a strange mixture of eastern mystical ideas or if it is a polluted and distorted version of the Christian “religion,” man’s performance is the central determining factor to being qualified. 

Religion states: If you meet up to the standards you will receive some compensation, some reward, and some blessings.

Religion states: If you meet up to the standards you will receive some compensation, some reward, and some blessings. That’s how it usually goes. You do your part and God may do His part! You do your best to satisfy the requirements and God may show favour and bless you!  What a hopeless dilemma - what a stressful way to live!  Religion creates high stress and puts all the pressure on you and your achievements. The most stressed out people are usually the most ardent followers of some “religious system.”  In fact, it seems as though only “super-humans” could even come near to the requirements expected by some religions. Hopeless, futile, and pointless - it’s a road with a dead end - and there’s no way out!

BEWARE - RELIGION IS DANGEROUS!

Man’s own efforts, performance and ability to keep all the rules are the underlying basis of all religions. In order to qualify for blessings and favour, man must comply to specific outward standards and then fulfil the various requirements. This is what in the end determines man’s future. So it is with the main religious trends throughout all mankind. We can see from this that in reality religion is very dangerous - it centres on what man must do, what man must achieve, and what man must perform! All religion basically revolves around a system of works and performances – that’s why it is so deadly!
Unfortunately, even the distorted version of “Christian religion” has fallen into this trap - it has become a performance-centred program in which man tries to please God through his own efforts and works. Sometimes it seems almost impossible to see any difference between other “performance-centred” religions and Christianity!

“DO IT YOURSELF”

The Christian “religion”, also, has its own “do it yourself” manuals.

The “Christian religion” has been turned into a never-ending series of demands. In fact, Christianity has many, many variations of the “do it yourself” religion. You may have seen “do it yourself” books on sale in bookshops. Almost every hobby has its own “do it yourself” manual meant to help the person repair, build or operate something. For example there are “do it yourself” manuals for almost every type of motorcar meant to help you fix and service your car without outside help. The Christian “religion”, also, has its own “do it yourself” manuals. All types of books on how to achieve more success, get more blessings, obtain more victory and more help from God. By praying more, by giving more, by fasting more, by surrendering oneself more, by being more committed, by believing more, by doing more …the list is endless…more, more, more.  But it can never produce what it promises - instead it creates disillusioned and disappointed followers. The Good News of the Gospel is that you don’t have to do it yourself   -  God has already done something so significant and complete without man’s help   -  just read on!

RELIEF TO THE WEARY!

The good news to all who are tired with the never-ending treadmill of religion is this: Righteousness is a gift that comes from God to those who accept what Jesus has done for them by faith! Acceptance and forgiveness are available because of what Jesus has already done!  Righteousness and eternal life are God’s gift to mankind!  These are not dependent on what you must do - it all rests on what God has already done! A gift cannot be earned and it cannot be bought. If you have to pay some compensation, then it is no longer a gift!

Many people around the world who embrace the “Christian religion” have never really heard the true Gospel. They have accepted a form of “Christianity” without ever understanding what the real Gospel is all about. They think that “Christianity” is just another religion with a different set of rules than other religions! They have substituted Christian “do’s and don’ts” for those of other religions. They believe that they must earn their way to God and at the same time do their best to obtain and to hold on to the benefits of salvation. That’s not the true Gospel. That is certainly not Good News!

The “too good to be true news” to those who are frustrated and exhausted with the demands of religious systems is this: acceptance and forgiveness from God are not dependent on your performance! Your performance can never obtain righteousness and acceptance - both forgiveness and righteousness are free gifts from God! You can know beyond any doubt that you are loved, accepted and forgiven because of what Jesus has already done on your behalf!

Behaviour modification does not change the motives of one’s heart - it only produces “modified actions.”

The free gift of righteousness produces a changed heart that, in turn, changes our actions. Actions cannot change our hearts. But a changed heart will most certainly also affect our actions!  Behaviour modification does not change the motives of one’s heart - it only produces “modified actions.” Christianity is not focused on “behaviour modification” but on changing people from the inside out. Religion concentrates on the outward actions, but God focuses on changing men’s hearts!

When we discover the finished work of Jesus Christ, which he accomplished on the cross, righteousness then becomes a very positive word. It is no longer a demand that we are unable to fulfill.  We recognize that the only righteousness worth anything is Jesus’ own righteousness - and we receive it as a free gift.

An uncomplicated, unreligious definition of righteousness is simply “to be in right standing with God.”  Another simple but profound definition of righteousness is “The ability to stand in the presence of God the Father without a sense of guilt or inferiority.” Not very difficult to understand! Before we were “out of line” and now we are “in line” after having received His gift of righteousness through faith in what Jesus has accomplished. Righteousness is the condition of being in right relationship with the Lord. This can only happen through total faith and dependence upon Christ. There is no other way, and there is nothing we can add to our faith to obtain right relationship with the Lord.

What a gift!  What a blessing!  NO religion can offer anything like this!  This is why the Gospel of God’s Grace is the Power of God to everyone who believes it!

I have been preaching the Gospel for more than 40 years, and I have met many wonderful people. I have met a lot of people who want to live their lives for Jesus. I have heard people, especially many young people, who say that they want Jesus to be number one in their lives. And that is great to hear – you may very well say that Jesus is number one in your life. But I would like to take it one step further….

I love you

Many years ago, when I was working in the seamen’s church in London, I had a dramatic accident. My body and my brain were seriously damaged. I lived in pain and suffering for several months. But one night in my home, Jesus appeared to me. He filled me and the whole room with His glory. It was like warm oil moving around in the room and filling me with His presence. I jumped out of the bed with my hands lifted, and I praised Him in a new language. I didn’t understand a word of it, but I just felt that finally I could praise Him the way I wanted. It was so perfect.

When He was crucified, I was there on the cross with Him.

And I realized that I was completely healed, my body and brain were completely restored! A lot of things happened, and I heard a voice saying to me: “Now, you know you are crucified with Me. It is not you living anymore, because now I live IN you. And the life you now live as a person, you live through My life, through My faith, and through My strength. And it is all because I love you!”
It is all because He loves me! It is all because He loves you!

Jesus in me

Jesus appeared to me that day because He loved me, and He wanted to tell me what He had given me because of His love for me. When He was crucified, I was there on the cross with Him. While He was suffering in pain, I was there with Him. His love for me made Him take me with Him on the cross. While he was suffering in pain and left alone without His father, he thought, “It is worth it because I am doing it for Bjørn.” And while He was paying for all my sins, my life was crucified. And when He was raised in victory, I was raised with Him. My own life was gone. But He had a new life for me - His own life. I now live through His life, through His faith and through His strength. 

He IS my life. He IS your life.

So you see Jesus is more than number one in my life. He IS my life. He IS your life. Galations 2.20 says, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

So when Jesus lives in me, I can always sing and praise Him. “Are you always happy?” you may ask. Yes, I can always rejoice in the Lord. I can, of course, feel sorrow in many situations, but I can stand in the middle of all difficulties and rejoice in Him. I am saved and He lives in me!

God loves every person equally

God loves you. He has always loved you and will always love you. There is nothing you can do to make him not love you. He loved you when you were created in your mother’s womb, and he wrote your name in the book of life. And you know what? He loves every person equally! Everyone has his or her name written in the book of life when created in their mother’s womb. His love is the same for all of us. As Revelation 3 says, a person can choose to reject Jesus and thereby be blotted out from the book of life. But God in His love is waiting for your response to His love. His love is the same whether you are good or bad according to this world’s standard.

Everyone has his or her name written in the book of life when created in their mother’s womb.

He loves everyone just as much as He loves you. The only difference between the sinner and you is Jesus! It was a revolution to me when I realized this. It changed my attitude toward other people. When I meet someone - it can be a robber, an alcoholic, or anyone else - I don’t think of them as sinners. I think of them as someone God loves. When they were born, their names were written in the book of life. And God is only waiting for a YES from them.   

And as God loves every person, we can also love every person. Or more correctly, Jesus, who lives in us, can love all people. Romans 5.5 says, “God has poured out His love into our hearts by the holy spirit, whom He has given us.”
Say YES to Jesus, and let Him live His LIFE through you!

Have you ever been appointed to go and tell someone great news that had just happened to them? I’m sure you didn’t go with a nervous heart or a sad face, but with excitement and joy filling your heart. You knew the news was great! And you knew the news was real!

The news of the Gospel is not only real, but truly, amazingly good! Sins are already taken away, and the free favor and grace of God is available to everyone – no matter what religion or nationality.

God is not counting their sins (2 Cor. 5:18), so we will not count them either.  Instead He is inviting people everywhere to receive the greatest gift of all. This is the time of grace, but still there are so many who have not yet heard the news!

In this newsletter Peter Youngren is expressing his heart on how to bring the good news to people no matter their religion. Muslims and others will listen when we focus on what our commission  is– being messengers of Good News – instead of debating religions or politics. To get the rest of Youngren’s message you might purchase his book.
A great testimony from a young worker in a Muslim country is also included in this newsletter.
Joseph Prince has blessed many with his teachings, and we are happy to bring another great teaching article to you.

Send us an e-mail, we are looking forward to hearing from you.

I moved to Indonesia as a missionary when I was twenty years old. The task of bringing the Gospel to the largest Muslim country in the world was more than I ever asked for. So many times I felt like I could not do anything worthwhile there that would make a difference. There were many times that the struggle to make something happen became exhausting. Trying to save a country or building up a great ministry could feel like such a heavy burden on my back. I never imagined I could continue this in the long term. But when I discovered the message of God’s grace, it changed my life, my ministry - it changed everything. The simple realization that it was all about Jesus and not about me truly freed me and allowed me to enjoy preaching the Gospel!  My name is Susan Hoover and I have now been a missionary in Indonesia for six amazing years.

Began to enjoy the ministry
And since learning to truly trust in Jesus and not trying to accomplish anything by self effort, I not only began to enjoy my ministry much more, but I also saw effects as the ministry grew by leaps and bounds that I never could have imagined! I never could have imagined that by the time I was 25, I would be preaching the Gospel before crowds of thousands and directing a Bible college - and all of it taking place in a Muslim country. It just doesn’t make sense. People often ask me how it is even possible for a young woman to be doing all of this. I only have one answer. I have stolen this answer from the Apostle Paul, “I am what I am, by the grace of God.”

Crowds in
Muslim areas
In our beginning, we would see thousands of people responding to the beautiful Gospel and receiving Jesus into their lives over a year’s time. But now, by the grace of God, we are seeing thousands respond in a single night as we do outreaches that draw crowds larger than they have ever seen before! And some of these are in Muslim areas where locals have claimed that such a thing cannot be done.

I have seen the impossible happen right before my eyes and I know that it is not one little bit because of anything I have done.

I could not have persuaded the Muslim leaders to work together with us. I could not have raised all of the finances that were needed. I could not have brought all those people to gather on the field. I do not have the wisdom needed to make all the decisions and direct everything and everyone. And I could never produce results, touch hearts and make the people believe. And instead of trying to do all of that I can simply allow Jesus to work through me and count on Him that He will work it all out. There is no burden on my shoulders and no stress of trying to force something to happen. I can stand in the midst of it with a smile on my face as I actually enjoy it!

This isn’t about deserving anything
I am well aware that I do not deserve all of this. But when we really stop and think about it, we realize that we don’t deserve anything. I don’t deserve salvation, healing, blessing, prosperity, or any other thing that God wants to give to me. I don’t deserve to receive anything from God and I don’t deserve to be used by God. But because of His grace He has saved me, given me all things and now continues to work through me, regardless of my weaknesses and failures.

I’m far from perfect. I’m just a young person with little education, money, and everything else that the world says you need for success. But I have all that I need - a revelation of the almighty Jesus living and working in me by His love and grace. I know that on my own I could never do anything worth writing about. But with Jesus working in me I have seen history being changed many times and I continue to see the nation of Indonesia being filled with the gospel of grace!

I see a nation loved by God
I have seen so many lives being changed, so many amazing miracles taking place, and so many locals catching the burning passion to spread the Gospel and become the history makers of the future! Words, even thousands of them, could not tell of all the beautiful things that are taking place as the Gospel shines further and further into the dark areas! The world may see a nation full of terrorists, bombs, and disasters but I see a nation loved by God. And although bringing God’s love to a nation with 220 million people seems like it would be an exhausting and stressful task, I look forward to it with joy and excitement. I can enjoy miracles and preaching the Gospel, even in the hardest of areas, because it is not me working it out, but the grace of God working through me.

When God ushered in the new covenant of grace, He sent His beloved Son Jesus and not a new set of commandments. So grace is a person, not a doctrine. And every blessing that we would ever need is inseparable from the person of Jesus!

Christianity is not a formula. God did not look down on us, see us in our sins and throw us an instruction manual. No.

God so loved the world that He gave us a person — His Son, Jesus Christ. The Lord being with you is all that you need because the Lord Himself is the one who blesses you with righteousness, holiness, success, victory, favour, provision, healing, wisdom and much more!

Jesus Is The I AM

1 Corinthians 1:30
30But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God —and righteousness and sanctification and redemption–
Now, that is wonderful! Notice that God does not dispense wisdom apart from Jesus. He is our wisdom! We don’t have a sanctification or holiness that is manufactured or flawed. Jesus is our holiness! His person is our redemption!

God is not saying, “I will give you healing,” or “I will provide you with health.” He is saying, “I AM your health! I AM your healing!”

Health, healing, provision and supply, are not just things or gifts that God gives you. God gives you Jesus. He is whatever you need.

On Mount Moriah where God provided Abraham with a ram for sacrifice in place of Isaac, we see the first mention of the compound names of God — Jehovah-Jireh. (Genesis 22:1–14) “Jireh” means “to see and to provide,” but what the Hebrew means literally is that the Lord, Jehovah, is Jireh! Just as you cannot separate forgiveness from the forgiver, you do not have prosperity apart from Jehovah. He is your provision, prosperity and supply!

In Exodus 15:26, we find mention of the name Jehovah-Rapha at the place where God healed the bitter waters of Marah so that the children of Israel could drink. In English, that name is often translated to “the Lord who heals you,” but in the Hebrew, it literally means “I am healing, I am health!”  God is not saying, “I will give you healing,” or “I will provide you with health.” He is saying, “I AM your health! I AM your healing!”

First Samuel 15:29 says, “And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor relent…” The word “strength” here, natsach in Hebrew, means “victory that abides” — perpetual victory. Notice that victory is a person — God Himself. Even victory is the Lord! He is the Strength, success and victory of His people!

Whatever your station in life, whatever career you are in, the Lord being with you is all that you need because the blessing is not in your company or situation. Your prosperity is not dependent on things that are subject to change. It’s all dependent on the unchanging person of the Lord Jesus, who is the same yesterday, today and forever!

So you see, there’s something wrong when a believer only wants the gifts, but does not have a heart for the Giver.

Wisdom Has Two Hands, So Take Both!

Many people want wisdom. Many want to have riches and honour, and long life. But they don’t see that wisdom is a person, and that it is being in the Lord’s presence that makes you wise. Neither do they realize that long life is inseparable from the One who is life.
Jesus has been made unto us wisdom — and He is seated at the right hand of the Father. (Hebrews 12:2) He is true wisdom.
In the Bible, wisdom is said to have two hands. In the left hand are riches and honour, and in the right is length of days. (Proverbs 3:16) So in Christ Himself are both the right and left hands of wisdom — riches and honour, and length of days!

In Deuteronomy 30:19, God told the children of Israel, “I set before you blessing and cursing, life and death” and just in case some of us don’t get it, He added,
Deuteronomy 30:19−20
19… therefore choose life, that both you and your descendents may live; 20… and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days…
The length of your days is a person! The Lord is your life and the length of your days. He is life, and in His presence is life.

Solomon’s Mistake

Solomon was probably about 20 years old when the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Ask! What shall I give you?” Solomon said, “Lord, give me wisdom.” And God replied, “Lo, I have given you a wise and understanding heart like no other king before or after you.” (1 Kings 3:12)
Most people don’t notice that God also said this:

1 Kings 3:13–14
13And I have also given you what you have not asked: both riches and honour…14So if you walk in My ways… as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days.

Notice that long life — length of days — was conditional? God said, “If you continue to walk in My ways, then I will lengthen your days.”
We know that Solomon’s wisdom did not stay intact and that he became very disillusioned in his later years. In contrast to the wise sayings recorded in Proverbs, in Ecclesiastes he wrote things like, “For in much wisdom is much grief, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.” (Ecclesiastes 1:18) And he died young — probably around the age of 60. (1 Kings 11:42–43) What happened?

Conversely, that tells us that many of us experience death in many shapes and forms because we don’t cultivate the Lord’s presence.

Solomon exchanged gods in his later years. He forgot that God was his true wisdom, success, and source. Without the Lord, the Giver, the gift became unfulfilling and corrupted. Solomon only had the left hand of wisdom. He never had the right hand, because the right hand of God is our Lord Jesus Christ and Solomon had given up the Lord.

So you see, there’s something wrong when a believer only wants the gifts, but does not have a heart for the Giver.

It’s not about thinking, “Jesus is all I need, I don’t need a career or money.” It’s about making Him your focus.

David Knew Who His Source Was

Now, David was a man after God’s own heart. (Acts 13:22) He valued the presence of the Lord. He was someone who talked to the Lord a lot. He cultivated the presence of God. He sang in the wilderness in front of the sheep, where nobody cared he existed! In 1 Samuel 16:1–11, when the prophet Samuel came to anoint one of Jesse’s sons as king, Jesse forgot all about David.

David was in the field, singing psalms of praise and worship. “Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. (Psalm 118:1) … Your lovingkindness is better than life… (Psalm 63:3)” He played his harp with no one listening but God. That is not doctrine or religion. That is a relationship!
When David met Goliath, even though he was still just a youth, he was not afraid because he was not conscious of the giant, but of God:

1 Samuel 17:45–46
45Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts… 46This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand… that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.

Years later, after David became king, when he committed adultery with Bathsheba, he sinned against her, her husband Uriah, and his people. But when God sent the prophet Nathan to confront him, David fell on his knees and said, “Against You, You only, have I sinned…” (Psalm 51:4) He was conscious that the person who got hurt most was the Lord!

“Take not your presence from me,” (Psalm 51:11) was the plea he made. “God, please don’t take Your presence from me. It is what has blessed me.”

What The Lord Wants Is You

Today we don’t have to be concerned in the same way as David, because we have no fear that the Lord will leave us. God loves us and He has promised that He will never leave nor forsake us. (Hebrews 13:5) But sometimes we take things for granted. We forget to cultivate His presence. Sometimes we forget to talk to Him until we come to church on Sunday, almost like, “Hello, Lord!”

When you love someone, you value his or her presence. You long for it. You will cultivate it and be conscious of it because to you, it is precious! It’s one thing to know theoretically that the Lord never leaves nor forsakes you, but another thing to cultivate His presence and show Him that you believe it.

The Lord is jealous for your presence. He loves you. He wants to have a personal relationship with you. He’s not a respecter of persons, but He’s a respecter of those who respect Him and value His presence. And God does not give in doses and portions — He Himself is your healing, your provision, and your wisdom.
So the more you honour His presence, the more you will see Him manifest in glory!

When my daughter Jessica was just a baby, there were times when she had a fever and would be crying at night. I would lay hands a number of times, pray, rebuke… all the formulas I know, but without result. But whenever I stopped seeking the healing and started seeking the Healer, things changed! It’s when my focus was no longer on my child and when Jesus became bigger in my consciousness than her sickness, that the results came.

Seek the Lord’s presence! He is Jehovah-Rapha, He Himself is healing, and His presence heals you!

The Lord’s Presence Is Your Success

Now let’s look at the story of Joseph. In Genesis 39:2, the Bible says, “The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.”

Just in case you were wondering, Joseph was not in a high-level office somewhere, with a huge office and wearing a three-piece suit. Genesis 39:1 tells us, “Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. And Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him down there.”
We are looking at a slave boy! A young slave boy around 17 years old. Standing there in the slave market, naked for inspection, but the first thing the Bible says about him was that the Lord was with him, “and he was a successful man.” How was Joseph successful?

Genesis 39:3
3And his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made all he did to prosper in his hand.
Wow! Potiphar saw that the Lord was with Joseph. He saw that God made all Joseph did to prosper. The man was a heathen without an ounce of discernment in his bones, yet he saw this!

Potiphar saw the manifest presence of the Lord in this slave boy’s life. God was not there just to be a spiritual hitchhiker! I believe that when Joseph planted tomatoes, his tomatoes were bigger than anyone else’s. When he tamed horses (the Egyptians were famous for their horses), all the horses responded like he was the horse whisperer. This young slave had so much favour that he even caught the attention of his master’s wife!

I believe that Joseph was conscious of the Lord’s presence because when Potiphar’s wife tried to seduce him, he rejected her saying, “How can I do this and sin against God?” (Genesis 39:7–9) No one was around to hear him say it except the woman. It was not for show. Joseph was saying, “God is here!”
Joseph’s later experiences in Egypt also proved that he trusted the Lord for his provision, wisdom and success. He enjoyed such favour and success that he ended up as Pharaoh’s second-in-command!

Do you want this kind of success? Then, don’t forget the very first thing — “The Lord was with Joseph.”

See Jesus Right Here, Right Now

The Bible says that the Lord is a very present help. (Psalm 46:1) When He arrived at Lazarus’ tomb, Lazarus had already been dead for four days. Martha, Lazarus’ sister, said to Jesus, “If You had been here when my brother was sick, he would not have died.” And when Jesus told her, “Your brother will rise again,” she responded with, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” (John 11:20–24) She pushed Jesus to the past and to the future, not realising that His present presence was her answer!

Jesus declared to her, “I am the resurrection and the life!” (John 11:25) God is always I AM. He is not I was or I will be. Notice that in the gospels, no one ever died or stayed dead in His presence?

Conversely, that tells us that many of us experience death in many shapes and forms because we don’t cultivate the Lord’s presence.

We are not conscious that He is our very present help in time of need.

So cultivate the Lord’s presence like you would cultivate a friend’s or your spouse’s presence. If you enjoy your friend’s or spouse’s presence, talk, converse, express your appreciation! Don’t act like they are part of the furniture! Make eyes at your wife across the room, run back from the door before leaving to kiss her. Say “hello” to the lift or petrol kiosk attendant.

Walking in a crowded place, say to Jesus, “Wow, Lord, it’s a squeeze here today!” Guys, you can say, “Lord Jesus, now that is a pretty girl!” After all, He created woman, and He is your holiness! And even if something upsets you, tell Him! “Lord, I don’t appreciate that about this person.”
Look out for the winds of heaven in little things, like when a child turns and smiles at you, or when you happen to get prime parking space. These things are not coincidence — God is saying, “Hey, I’m with you.”

Whatever it is, just turn your eyes to Jesus. Worship Him. If you can’t sing, just talk! The Bible says, “Speak to yourself in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.” (Colossians 3:16) Talk to the Lord. He, His presence, is your answer.

Find Rest In His Presence

Wherever the Lord is, and wherever His presence is, there is rest.

A rest that is not subject to atmospheric forces or outward circumstances.

Moses once said to God, “If I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way that I may know You and find grace in Your sight.” (Exodus 33:13) The Lord replied,

Exodus 33:14
14… My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.
The One who spoke to Moses came in the flesh, stood before the Jewish people of His day who were heavily burdened by laws and rules, and said,

Matthew 11:28

28Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

The Amplified Bible says it this way — “I will cause you to rest.” And in the Greek, it literally says, “I will rest you.”

“Come to Me,” Jesus says. Not to a country, or a mountain, or a religion, but to Himself.

“Come to Me, and My presence will cause you to rest. In My presence is rest. I am rest.” Wherever His presence manifests, there is rest. And the devil cannot operate where there is rest — his territory is unrest, agitation and stress.

We have blessings that are resilient, because they depend on Jesus who lives in us. Because our healing, longevity, prosperity and success are all based on someone who is unshakeable, all-powerful, all-knowing and best of all, all-loving, we have a security that is immovable! A peace unspeakable!

This article is excerpted from the message, Your Every Blessing Is Found In The Person Of Jesus, preached by Pastor Joseph Prince on January 7, 2007. To obtain a copy of the full message, visit our online store at http://www.destined2reign.com

Welcome to this month’s Global Grace teaching.  Each article will point us towards Christ. As we make our personal journey from the Old Covenant religion into the New Covenant, we often have a “death experience.” The old religious performance-based life must be left behind as we enter life in the Spirit. Interestingly, as the children of Israel entered the Promised Land, we see several powerful spiritual death and resurrection symbols.

The grave of Moses represents death to the Law. Moses could not enter into the Promised Land, just as legalism can never bring God’s people into the promises of God. “For the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope” (Heb. 7:19). Right at the entrance to the Promised Land we find Moses’ grave; legalism can never enter into the inheritance in Christ.

Secondly, there is the grave of Jordan, picturing our identification with Christ, and death to self. As Israel crossed the Jordan, the waters became a symbolic death and burial. This was a very definite moment. At one time Israel was in the wilderness and minutes later they were in the Promised Land. Similarly, there is a moment in our life, when we reckon ourselves truly dead to self and alive to Christ. The crossing of the Jordan required the priest standing in the middle of the river assisting the people. This depicts our High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ, and without Him we can never enter into our Land of Promise. If we try to crucify ourselves we are always very selective, and we will be sure to let certain areas escape, but “by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live” (Rom. 8:13). Once we have reckoned ourselves dead to our own ability there is no going back, just like there was no going back into the wilderness for Israel.

Thirdly, there is a grave of Gilgal – a practical death. The generation that had been born during the wilderness needed to be circumcised. This depicts the practical working out of the new life in Christ. After this mass circumcision, every male would have a clear mark in his body that the old wilderness life was left behind. All of us have had “Gilgal-experiences” where the Spirit of God deals with us in such a way that it becomes evident that the old life with its goals, pursuits and desires is behind us. We now belong to another - Jesus Christ Himself.

Finally, at the entrance to the Promised Land you find Joshua’s symbolic grave, representing death to our own ability. As Joshua stood before the city of Jericho, he experienced a symbolic death, “...a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand” (Joshua 5:13-15). That drawn sword over Joshua’s neck is a picture of death. Joshua, who was a captain of the Lord’s people, discovered that there is a Greater Captain, most likely an appearance of Jesus Himself. Joshua’s strength could never bring the victory; true victory is through someone immensely greater. It reminds us of these words “Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place” (2 Cor. 2:14). Just as Joshua laid his sword at the feet of a greater Captain, so we lay our abilities at the feet of Jesus.

The purpose of this teaching letter is to help pastors and leaders – yes, all believers - to let go of “wilderness religion” based on our own merits, and instead experience the new life and a “promised land” that is ours by the grace of Jesus Christ.

God bless you,

Peter Youngren

Peter Youngren is not trying to convert people from one religion to another, but to bringing the good news about Jesus to people in ALL religions.

Jesus is a point of contact between Muslims and Christians.  The only ancient religious writings that give Jesus a supreme position are the Bible and Islam’s holy book, the Koran, which mentions Jesus ninety-seven times.  Entire chapters are dedicated to Him.  Though there are stark differences in how Christians and Muslims view Jesus, still without question He remains a person of common interest and a point of dialogue.

Let me be very clear where I stand. Jesus came for the world; no religion or culture owns Him.  He loves the world, died for all, and rose again to give new life to everyone.  His grace extends to all religions including Muslims and Christians alike.  Jesus is the Savior of all people.

One of the first comments I make to Muslim friends is, “I am not trying to convert you to Christianity.”  That does not mean that I view Christianity in a negative light, though just like any religion, Christianity has its share of problems.  It is just that no religion, no matter how well intentioned, has the power to make us righteous.  That ability is in Jesus alone.  For years I have endeavored to show Christians our need to receive new life through Jesus Christ.  How we respond to Jesus is a crucial matter for every person regardless of religion.  This is an area of complete equality; everyone, man or woman, Christian or Muslim, rich or poor, who believes and receives God’s love revealed in Jesus has eternal life.

My mission in life is to share this Good News of Jesus Christ. For thirty years I have enjoyed working with Christians of almost all denominations and in all parts of the world.  Our common denominators are our love for people and our faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Muhammad, the Koran and Christians

In addition to working with Christians, I gladly work with all people who promote peace and mutual understanding.  My travels have brought me into contact with many Muslims who are honest, hard-working and peace-loving individuals.  I have often received friendship and understanding from Muslims.  It has been my joy to extend a hand of friendship to people of other religions than my own, according to the example given by Jesus and the apostle Paul, who refused to discriminate against any individual or groups of people.  My friendship with Muslims has not caused me to compromise my belief in the Gospel.  On the contrary it has helped me to really focus on the core of our message, which is Jesus and what He has done for the world. When we turn from self–righteousness and self-reliance and receive the Messiah sent from God into our hearts, we receive peace from God.  Jesus Himself is our Prince of Peace.

I remember how shocked I was to discover that the Koran speaks highly of the Gospel.

I remember how shocked I was to discover that the Koran speaks highly of the Gospel. Islam’s prophet Muhammad taught that the Gospel is from God, but millions of Muslims and Christians know little or nothing about the Gospel.  This ignorance makes the task of presenting Christ’s Good News to all people extremely urgent.

In the early days of Islam, Muhammad had a particularly good relationship with Christians.  Christians and Jews are called by the Arabic term “Ahl al Kitab,” meaning the “People of the Book.”  The Koran puts forth this idea of goodwill towards Ahl al Kitab: “You will find that the closest to you in love are those who call themselves Christians, because there are priests and monks among them who do not behave arrogantly” (Surah 5:82).

Muslims were encouraged to accept the Scriptures of Jews and Christians, and to live in peace with them. “And argue not with the People of the Book unless it be in (a way) that is better, save with such of them as do wrong; and say: We believe in that which has been revealed unto us and revealed unto you; our God and your God is One, and unto Him we surrender” (Surah 29:46). 

I am very serious when I say I do not try to convert people from one religion to another.

The Koran goes as far as saying that if a Muslim has questions they can refer to the “People of the Book,” “ask those who have been reading the Book before thee” (Surah 10:94).

During the later part of Muhammad’s life the Koran records instances of hostilities between Muslims and Christians, as well as rebukes of Christians. Still the verses quoted above show openness and good-will.  I would rather focus on common denominators, and on building bridges, than on that which engenders further strife.  Enough books have been written about wars between Christians and Muslims.  My focus is Jesus and His love extended to all.
 

Promoting Jesus and not a religion

I am very serious when I say I do not try to convert people from one religion to another.  This would be fruitless since no religion is able to save even one person.  Christians are sometimes offended when I make this statement.  It is very easy for us Christians to put our focus on the religion of Christianity rather than the person of Jesus.  A quick look at the Bible will reveal that salvation is not found in adherence to a religion.  Statements from the Bible like: “he who has the Son (Jesus) has life” and eternal life is in “no other name than Jesus” put the focus squarely on Jesus and Jesus alone (more about this later). 

I am very serious when I say I do not try to convert people from one religion to another.

While I do not try to convert people from one religion to another, I seek to influence people of all religions to embrace Jesus Christ and His righteousness, which is a free gift to all who believe.  This is not all the same as trying to convert a person from one religion to another.  In fact, millions claim adherence to Christianity, and still have no knowledge of the free gift of Jesus’ righteousness.

Friendship, Not Riot

Like many Christians, I grew up in an environment where Muslims were mistrusted.  Somehow the idea reached my young mind that Muslims wanted to kill Christians.  While there is no question that fanatical Muslims have killed Christians, it is equally true that fanatical Christians have killed Muslims. 

Have my contacts with Muslims been without confrontation or conflict?  By and large, yes.  There have been a few occasions when tension or conflict erupted, but each time it was because Muslims erroneously thought that I was about to attack their religion.

Why would some Muslims think I wanted to speak against their religion?  Let me explain.  For more than thirty years I have conducted large Gospel Festivals around the world.  Crowds of up to 600,000 have attended a single service.  While not all the events reach that magnitude, almost all Festivals reach tens of thousands.  It is impossible to conduct events on this scale without attracting attention from the media.  On a few occasions Muslims have reacted negatively to our advertisements.  On every occasion when I spoke with the Muslims who had opposed our event, I discovered the problem was based on their previous encounters with Christian preachers.  They had heard Christian ministers who used the pulpit to belittle Islam and Muslims.  When they saw our program advertised they assumed this was another event where Christians would bash Muslims.

I remember one tense occasion where rioting occurred in the streets before our Festival started.  After the people heard my first message of Jesus they understood that I was not criticizing Islam.  Fifteen Muslim leaders came late one night to my hotel.  One by one these leaders asked my forgiveness.  It was one of the most touching moments in my life when they said, “Mr. Youngren, we recognize now that you did not come to attack us or our religion, but you have only spoken lovingly about the Lord Jesus Christ.” 

When I was able to share about God’s love revealed in Jesus with an attitude of friendship, the misunderstandings were removed.  I do not mean that we agreed on every fact, or that those Muslim leaders received Jesus as their Savior that night.  No, we still had differences.  However, when I focused on God’s love revealed in Jesus there was a willingness to listen. 

Cartoons

In early 2006, European newspapers released cartoons of the prophet Muhammad.  Muslims viewed these as blasphemous and demonstrations erupted across the world.  Sadly, some died as a result of the protests.  Christians vigorously defended the cartoons on the basis of freedom of the press.  Muslim clerics were equally vigorous in calling the depictions blasphemous. Again many Christian preachers got in the fray.  Some claimed that the violent demonstrations showed the true face of Islam.  I cherish the western freedom of expression and sadly, this freedom is lacking in many Muslim countries.  Still, Christians should know better than to attack other religions.  When the media desecrates Christian values, we are offended and ask for it to be stopped.  Christians protest movies like, “The Last Temptation of Christ” and “The DaVinci Code” because they portray Jesus in a way that is blasphemous to us.  It should be natural for us to show respect for others.  Our real task is far more important than to defend or criticize a cartoon.  Politicians deal in politics.  Newspaper editors deal in editorials.  Our concern is not freedom to speak ill against others, but freedom to express the good news of what God has done in Jesus Christ for the world.  I challenge Christians to focus on our task, and I challenge Muslims to not be afraid to let the Gospel of Jesus Christ be heard.

Enough books have been written about wars between Christians and Muslims.  My focus is Jesus and His love extended to all.

Am I Naive?

To Christians who may consider me naive to propose friendship with Muslims in a world of violence and terrorism I ask, “How is your approach to the Muslim world working?”  I question my Christian friends who attack and speak condescending words about Islam, “What results are you seeing?” 

Most importantly, what is Jesus’ approach?  Jesus said, “If anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.  He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him - the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day” (John 12:47-48).  These are amazing statements. 

Jesus says:

1.  He will not now judge the one who does not believe Him;
2.  The purpose now is to bring salvation to people; and
3.  Judgment will come in the last day.

Do you see how this frees us from judging others?  This does not mean that there will never be a judgment.  No, God will judge everyone on the last day.

On each occasion, Jesus ignored the question and stayed focused on His message – to bring salvation and new life to all without discrimination.

There are many opportunities today to be drawn into political debates.  Jesus also faced this challenge. The Samaritan woman who conversed with Jesus tried to get an argument started as to whether the correct place of worship was in the city of Jerusalem or in Samaria (John 4).  The disciples wanted to discuss the establishment of the political kingdom of Israel (Acts 1:4-8).  On each occasion, Jesus ignored the question and stayed focused on His message – to bring salvation and new life to all without discrimination.  Jesus had not come to condemn, but to save.  We follow Jesus!

This article is excerpted from the
book, My Muslim Friends, by Peter
Youngren. To obtain a copy of the
book, visit their online store at
http://www.peteryoungren.org

“In this sometimes provocative and challenging book, Christians are encouraged to discard bigoted views of Muslims, while Muslims are challenged to learn more of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The author quotes freely from the Bible as well as Islam’s holy book, the Koran, noting that these are the only ancient scriptures which give Jesus a supreme position. In a world that seemingly inches ever closer to the precipice of disaster, this book advocates a path of friendship rather than fanaticism, dialogue instead of division. Most of all, readers will be drawn into a deeper encounter with Jesus.”

“Now our whole foundation is shaking!” These words came from a minister during a Gospel of Grace seminar held in Africa eight months ago. His words are still fresh in my mind and encourage me as we keep running with the vision. 

What then was the teaching that brought this kind of a reaction?  It was a short teaching on the old versus the new covenant, Law versus grace, the ministry of condemnation versus the ministry of righteousness, and self-righteousness versus God’s righteousness.

In 1 Cor. 3:10-11 Paul says, “According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”

If we are mixing the old and the new covenant, we will discover, just like the minister did, that we have laid another foundation! Now it’s time to reestablish our foundation – let’s build on Jesus and His finished work alone!

This month we are continuing on the topic of getting a Gospel Revolution. Be encouraged and transformed as you study the two important teaching articles we bring this month, from Steve McVey and David Sterling. Also be aware of the news on the changes done to GGN.

I used to pray God for a revival in our church, but we need more than a revival. Revivals are wonderful, but they come and go. We need a movement from God to come and stay. We need a reformation coming from revelation, bringing revolution.

Grace will bring you out of the prison house, out of a life under the Law and take you into the “party house” of God’s grace. I feel so much better after leaving my empty religion. I was religious for many years, and I believed that was the way I ought to be. I thought a Christian had to behave in a certain way. But the Christian life is not an act. We are to rest in Christ and let Him live His life through us. The message I’ll share with you is very simple: Be yourself! Know who you are in Jesus Christ!

A new life

In 2 Cor.5:17 the Bible tells you that you’re a new creature in Christ. You’re not the same person you used to be. God took the person you were and let him die on the cross. Then He gave you a new life - His own life. A righteous life. A holy life. A supernatural life. A life that brought you into communion and union with The Father through His Son, Jesus Christ.

The message of grace is very simple. It says: “Stop trying and start trusting!”

Now you don’t have to try to act holy anymore. It’s hopeless to try to act holy. It’s even worse to be around others trying to be holy. Seemingly, they know exactly what you ought to do to become more like them. The message of grace is very simple. It says: “Stop trying and start trusting!” Stop working in a religious eagerness to prosper spiritually and just come and rest in Christ! Stop burning yourself out trying to reach the blessings of God!

I used to think that burning out was something great. But God didn’t intend for us to burn out, He called us to burn on while resting. Now let me remind you, this is not my message, I’m only a messenger. The message comes from the Lord Jesus himself! It was Jesus who said: “Come to me all you who labor and are heavy-laden and I will cause you to rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is wholesome and My burden is light.” (Matt.11:28-30)

Can you see the life Jesus has to offer? He uses words like light and rest. Jesus says: “Come to me and find rest!” Religion says: “Get to work!” Jesus says: “My yoke is wholesome, My burden is light!” Religion says you have to burn out for Him. There’s such a huge difference between religion and a Christian life. The Christian life is a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

The law of sin and death

Rom. 8:2 says: “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has freed me from the law of sin and of death.”

The Bible explains that there are two different laws operating in this world and one of them is the law of sin and death. It is a universal law that works the same way in all places at the same time. As the law of gravity will pull an object towards the center of the earth, the law of sin and death will try to pull people down and into sin.

How do we overcome this law as Christians? I have some bad news for you and I have some good news. The bad news is that you’ll never gain victory through your own power. No matter how dedicated you are and for how long you try, you’ll never be able to live the Christian life by God’s standards. You might as well give it all up! The good news is that Jesus can and will live the life through you. You can’t do it - but Jesus can!

It became a circle of living; rededicate, try, fail, rededicate, try, fail….

For 29 years I constantly rededicated my life to God. Each time I promised to fight harder to live my life for Him. I rededicated myself again and again. I tried hard, but I failed! It became a circle of living; rededicate, try, fail, rededicate, try, fail…. For 29 years I continued to do this! Finally I understood that it didn’t work. You can say I was a slow learner. I did the same thing for 29 years and it didn’t work!

How many times have you rededicated yourself to the Lord? I have some good news for you! You might as well stop doing it right away, because it won’t work! You say: “But I think it will work!” Then why do you have to do it over and over again? You know it won’t work! We are not called to keep rededicating ourselves to Christ. When we do this, we strive in our own power to live for Him. The problem here is our self. The need is not to rededicate our self over and over again, but to stop striving in our own power.

A new, more powerful law

You have to realize you’ll never live a perfect life for Jesus in your own power. We can stop praying: “Lord, give me strength.” Instead, we can pray: “Lord, I’m weak and I’ll always be weak in myself, but You are my strength!” It’s in our human weakness that the power of God is manifested. The law of sin and death will drag you down. You may have all the faith and commitment you think you need to overcome, but you’ll never succeed. I can climb up on the roof of a tall building, believing strongly that I can fly. I can jump from the roof, waving my arms with all the faith man can produce, but I’m guaranteed to fall down.

The Bible tells us about another law. It’s the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. If a man climbed up on a tall building with a hang glider, you know he wouldn’t fall like the one waving his arms. The hang glider makes a huge difference for the man, because it brings into play a new law - the law of aerodynamics. This law is greater than the law of gravity. Now the man can rest under the hang glider and overcome gravity. Gravity still exists, but the man can rest in a greater law, giving him power to overcome gravity.

Jesus says: “Come to me and find rest!” Religion says: “Get to work!”

The law of sin and death will drag us down, but when we rest in the faith that Christ lives in us - that He can do it - then we gain victory over the law of sin and death. You don’t have victory in your own power; Jesus Christ is your victory! When you rest in Him and let Him live through you, He will make sure you walk in victory over the law of sin and death. 

Crucified with Christ

We do not have victory in our own power and strength, but by the Spirit of God. If you want to overcome the destructive force of sin, you need to come to rest in the law of the Spirit of Christ Jesus. The Bible says we are dead to sin. He who used to live in sin is dead. That doesn’t mean you’ll never feel tempted to sin, but the real you hate sin because you’re dead to sin.

Imagine a man who’s had an overdose of cocaine and dies. As he lies in his casket at the cemetery, one of his friends that he used to take drugs with comes to his gravesite. His friend bends down to the casket and says: “Hey, I’ve got some cocaine! Do you want some?” Do you know what the man in the casket does? Nothing! He’s dead! A dead man doesn’t need any cocaine!

The Bible says you are dead to sin. You died on the cross together with Jesus.

I’m crucified with Christ, it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me! For me to live is Christ! For in Him we live and move and have our being.

Paul told us to consider ourselves as dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. We are dead to sin. When sin comes knocking at our door, we can just confirm that we are dead to sin. You no longer need to say no to temptations because of a feeling of duty; now you can say no because you don’t WANT to sin! You’re free! So why should you go back to garbage? We have the life of Jesus Christ inside of us and we are free!

Fix your eyes on the solution

Too many Christians are bound by the law. They try to fight temptations by their own strength of will. We need to know our condition - that we are dead to sin. We also need to know our position in Christ. We are one with Him now. We have been raised up from death together with Him. The Bible says that if we are raised with Christ, we should seek those things that are above, not those things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden in Christ in God.

Far too often, Christians try to operate out of the law of sin and death. They try to have victory over sin through their own willpower. They focus on sin and try in their own strength to overcome temptations. They are so focused on sin that it occupies much of their minds. You don’t have victory over sin by focusing on sin, but by fixing your eyes on Jesus!

I heard someone teach that sin in your life is like weeds in a garden. He said that you need to concentrate on pulling them out one by one. But there’s a problem with that theology, and that is that weeds grow fast. While I’m working and struggling to get rid of the weeds in one place, they’re still growing in other places. It’s an eternal, bad circle.

You don’t have victory over sin by focusing on the weeds. You win by focusing on Jesus! When we focus on Jesus, the power of sin will diminish and disappear. Sin is not the solution - Jesus is the solution! He IS our victory over sin. You have victory by fixing your eyes on Him! 

1 Cor.15:57: “But thanks be to God, Who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Rom. 8:37: “Yet amid all these things we are more than conquerors and gain a surpassing victory through Him Who loved us.”

Know your position in Christ

We need to know our condition. We are dead to sin! We need to know our position. We are one with Christ Jesus!

We have been set free by the life of Jesus! We have been made righteous in the core of our being. Our Spirit has been perfected through Jesus Christ. Our soul is renewed every day when we walk together with Him. One day, we’ll receive a completely glorified body and we will be free from the very presence of sin. Until that day, we rest in Christ Jesus. We do not live with a confession that we are still sinners, but that we are saints who sometimes sin. But we are not sinners!

He overwhelmed his son with goodness and love.

How you behave and who you really are may or may not coincide at times. But though we may do things that do not coincide with who we are in Jesus, it still doesn’t change who we are in Him. I can act contrary to who I am, but it still doesn’t change who I am. I could dress up one day as a woman, put on a dress and makeup, but that wouldn’t make me a woman. In the same way, we can fail and sin, but it doesn’t change the reality of who we are in Christ Jesus. When you sin and do wrong, it doesn’t change who you are. You may act foolishly, but you’re still a child of God.

Unconditional love

God loves you unconditionally all the time. Some may believe that God’s love only works under certain conditions. When the prodigal son wanted to return to his father, he thought he could come back as a servant on his farm. He would tell his father that he was no longer worthy to be called his son, but that he could serve him. This is the classical confession of a Christian under the Law: “Father I have sinned! I no longer deserve to be your child, but if You’ll forgive me again, I’ll serve You more and work harder for You.”

When the boy came close to the farm, his father saw him while he was still far away and the father came running to greet him! He rejoiced in having his son back and kissed him. The boy didn’t get to give his speech. The father didn’t bother whether or not the boy wanted to work hard - he was just happy to have his son back home. He ordered his servants to throw a party for his son to celebrate! He overwhelmed his son with goodness and love.

If you should sin, then run back into the Father’s arms. You don’t need to come running with lots of promises you’ll never fulfill anyway. Come to the Father as you are. You may think He has turned His heart against you, but you’ll discover that His love for you will never change.

He doesn’t love us based on whether we sin or not. He loves us on one condition: we are His children.

The older son in the parable of the prodigal son was not happy about what was happening. He complained about how he had faithfully served his father through the years, but never had a party like the one that was being thrown for the other son. As a matter of fact, this brother had some of the same misunderstandings regarding his father as his younger brother. He believed the relationship between them was all about serving. God loves us, but not out of how we serve or don’t serve Him. He doesn’t love us based on whether we sin or not. He loves us on one condition: we are His children.

Some say that preaching the message of grace will cause people to sin more. The Bible tells us that grace will teach us to deny ungodliness and the things of the world. When you know how much Jesus and the Father love you, you’ll become motivated to live by a higher law, the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. Let God give you the ability to walk in this power and behave according to who you are in Christ.

(Published with permission from Steve McVey, President, Grace Walk Ministries, http://www.gracewalk.org - 1-813-234-9546”.) 

The “Christian religion” preaches a false “gospel”, where it is all about what you must do. This is Bad News! We need the true Gospel, where it is all about what Jesus has done. This is the only Gospel that can set people free.

Many people around the world who embrace the “Christian religion” have never really heard the true Gospel. They have accepted a form of “Christianity” without ever understanding what the real Gospel is all about. They think that “Christianity” is just another religion with a different set of rules and they have substituted Christian “do’s and don’ts” for those of other religions.

the devil will make sure you know that your performance is never quite good enough

They believe that they must earn their way to God and at the same time do their best to gain and to hold on to the benefits of salvation. That’s not the true Gospel. That is certainly not Good News!

Depending on Own Performance?

Even accepting Jesus as your Saviour, with the belief that you are now going to abide by a certain set of rules, or exchange one set for another, is not the good news.  Why? Because it still depends upon your performance. It is still subject to you being able to meet some standard and keep the rules.  And I can guarantee you that the devil will make sure you know that your performance is never quite good enough. He is an expert at showing you how insufficient, incomplete and incompetent you are. He is the accuser of the brethren and He is very skilful at showing you how inadequate your performance is (Rev. 12:10).

Many people around the world who embrace the “Christian religion” have never really heard the true Gospel.

The truth that makes the Gospel the “nearly-too-good-to-be-true news” is that we are fully accepted by God through what Jesus did for us without any of our own merits. Salvation and the abundant life that Jesus came to give us are not dependent on our own performance. God’s wonderful blessings are not subject to how successfully we perform as Christians. Even answers to prayer are not relative to our goodness and flawlessness. The revelation of God’s amazing grace will deliver you from a performance mentality - it will deliver you from living a legalistic, stress- filled life.  God blesses and provides because of what Jesus has already accomplished on our behalf and not what you may accomplish!  Salvation is all about God’s faithfulness, not ours!  (Eph. 2:8-9)

The Book of Romans communicates that the Gospel in itself is the power of God. The Gospel is what produces the life of God in people. However, the word Gospel has become a religious term that has lost a lot of its meaning today. Many people associate “Gospel” with anything that has to do with religion; specifically the Christian religion.  But “Gospel” literally means “good news.”  The Greek word, euaggelion, which was translated “gospel” in seventy-four New Testament verses, actually means “nearly-too-good-to-be-true news.”

Much of today’s “Christian culture” associates the Gospel with these statements:  “You’re a sinner. If you don’t repent, you’re going to hell.”  Now, these are true statements. There is a heaven and a hell, a God, and a devil, and you will go to hell if you don’t repent and receive salvation. But even though all of that is true, it’s not “good news.”  It’s not “the Gospel.”

God doesn’t take the “good” people and save them - He takes the ungodly and justifies them

The Gospel is directly related to the grace of God. That’s the only way this forgiveness of our sins can be obtained. Eternal life isn’t obtained through our holiness or good works. It’s only by God’s Grace, which is His active power, that we become righteous. It’s only by this powerful, active grace in our lives that we are changed inwardly. God doesn’t take the “good” people and save them - He takes the ungodly and justifies them (Rom. 4:5).

The “Anti-Gospel”

This causes many problems for religious people.  They say, “Wait a minute! I believe you must do this and that to be holy before God.”  Religion - false religion, man’s concepts - teaches that right standing with God and His blessings come as a result of our own goodness, merits and works. But that’s anti-Gospel!  It’s against the “good news” of God’s grace because it’s putting the burden of salvation and experiencing God’s goodness on your back - and you can’t bear it. Nobody can save themselves. Nobody can obtain blessings and favour by their own works. Nobody can approach God on the basis of how he has himself lived and performed.
That’s basically the false “gospel” that religion preaches today. At its core, it’s another “gospel” - which is no gospel at all (Gal. 1:7).  It is a polluted and corrupted gospel.  It’s all about what you must do. It is BAD NEWS and not GOOD NEWS!  (Gal. 1:6-7)

The Gospel isn’t only the belief in salvation, but it’s also the understanding of the means by which this salvation is obtained. “If you’ll act good and do good, then you’ll be accepted” isn’t the true Gospel.  Notice what Paul said while addressing the very first ministers’ conference at Ephesus:  “But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24).

Salvation

Even the word salvation is so often misunderstood. It is not unusual for Christians to believe that salvation is a one-time occurrence, an experience when your sins are forgiven.

Salvation is a package deal and it’s all accomplished by the grace of God, not our works.

That’s true, there is a moment when you pass from death to life, but that is not all that happens. It’s an incomplete definition.  Salvation isn’t limited to the initial born-again experience.

Salvation is everything Jesus purchased for us through the atonement.  Sozo, the Greek word from which “salvation” was translated, means much more than forgiveness of sin.  It also means healing, deliverance, peace and prosperity. It’s a word that summarizes everything that Jesus provided for us through His death, burial, and resurrection.

Salvation is a package deal and it’s all accomplished by the grace of God, not our works. However, Satan is always trying to deceive us. He wants us to believe we must earn things from God. Satan is the one causing us to doubt the Lord’s willingness to use His ability on our behalf. Unfortunately, the church is often reinforcing that belief.

“I am not ashamed to tell people about the goodness, grace, and mercy of God.”

Most people believe that God moves in their lives proportional to their performance.  They believe God blesses according to how we succeed with living a good Christian life. That was the error Paul was dealing with in the book of Romans. When Paul came along and said, “I’m not ashamed of the Gospel!” he was saying, “I am not ashamed to tell people about the goodness, grace, and mercy of God.” The Lord loves us in spite of who we are and what we’ve done. Salvation has already been provided - healing and deliverance have been paid for.  They are ours to receive.  Now that’s “good news!”

The True Gospel

The true Gospel - “the nearly-too-good-to-be-true news” is that God has already provided everything that we shall ever need in Christ through His death and resurrection. The Good News is that we are already reconciled, redeemed and sanctified through Jesus’ once and forever sacrifice. It’s the Good News of God’s grace that empowers men to receive the forgiveness of their sins, the healing of their bodies, the deliverance from Satan’s oppression, and more. That’s the Gospel!

The Gospel is about what has already been accomplished once and forever.

Do you need to be healed? The power for healing is in the Gospel.
Do you need to be prospered financially? The power for financial prosperity is in the Gospel.
Do you feel you need more power to live a life of victory? The Gospel is the power of God.
Do you need to be delivered from the power of demonic influence, from depression, from yourself, or from something else? The power for deliverance is in the Gospel!
The Gospel is not about what God may do or about something that could possibly take place.
The Gospel is about what has already been accomplished once and forever.
This Gospel IS the power of God. (Rom. 1:16)  And it’s “nearly too good to be true.”

Text:  John 3:17, 2 Cor. 3:4-11, Rom 7:6

Introduction:

It is of great importance that we, as ministers of the New Covenant, know what our ministry is. We don’t have the ministry of Moses in the Old Covenant, but we have the ministry of Jesus and the New Covenant. 

Let’s take a closer look at this.

A. Jesus was not sent to condemn but to save (John 3:17)

1. Many times we see that Jesus HAD reason to condemn people – they were not without faults! But He knew that His ministry was not to condemn, but to save.

Examples:
- Luke 19:1-10. People had been condemning the dishonest tax-collector, Zacchaeus, but it had never brought any change to his life. However, when he was met by Jesus’ unconditional love and favor, it brought a real change to his life - not an external behavior-modification, but a real heart-transformation.
- John 4:7-30. The Samaritan woman was not met by condemnation, but by a word of knowledge given in love and respect. As a result, the woman and many others were saved.
- John 8:3-11. The woman caught in adultery was condemned by the Law of Moses, but Jesus did not condemn her. Earlier she had met Mr. Law but that day she met Mr. Grace.

2. Jesus did not come to condemn sinners, but to solve their sin problem. He came to remove the sin by paying its full penalty Himself. Then He came to live inside of us – so His life is formed in us.

Example:
- The Law is like a mirror. It reveals what is wrong with us, but it has no arms to stretch out to help fix our hair. However, when we are born-again we receive a brand new life inside. (Ezek. 36:26-27.)

B. We are not sent to condemn but to save (John 17:18 and 2 Cor. 5:18-21)

1. We are ambassadors for Christ – He is continuing His ministry through us - not to condemn but to save.

2. God does not impute sins to people, and neither do we.
Amplified Version of 2 Cor. 5 says: God is not counting their sins and holding them up against them.

3. We don’t have the ministry of condemnation but the ministry of reconciliation.

C. The ministry of the Old Covenant versus the ministry of the New Covenant (2 Cor. 3:4-13 and Rom 7:6)

1. Study carefully these verses that are comparing the two ministries. Observe which ministry brings the most results and is most glorious.

2. We are not under the Law of Moses. Let’s be careful that we don’t keep ministering in its “oldness,” or we will be preaching the Gospel still under the atmosphere of the Law. (Rom 7:6)

Example of ministering in the oldness of the letter, bringing condemnation:
”If you just had more faith, God would have done more miracles here. But your problem is that you are just like the people in Nazareth, you don’t have enough faith.”

To minister in the newness of the Spirit we will instead be preaching the good news, that because of Jesus everything is now available by grace alone! Jesus, our righteousness, lives in us, and HE is now our faith. So we don’t have to try to produce our own faith, we can just look to Him who IS our faith. 

Conclusion:

HOW MUCH MORE GLORIOUS the fruits of the New Covenant ministry are! Let’s not mix the Old and the New Covenant ministries, but let’s be 100% New Covenant ministers. Then we will see the glorious fruits thereof!

Let us make sure we share the message with our feet firmly planted on Golgotha.

The Gospel is good news to all men. It is of vital importance that we keep it as pure and simple as it really is, so that we may reach ordinary people with the good news. My question to you as a minister is, “From which pulpit are you sharing – Mt. Sinai or Golgotha?” Let us make sure that we share the message with our feet firmly planted on Golgotha! In this article I’m explaining what that means.

The essential difference

“But now we are delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of Spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.” (Rom. 7:6)

There is an essential difference between “the oldness of the letter” versus “the newness of Spirit.” The oldness of the letter is all about commandments and requirements. Some commandments said: “You shall…,” but most said: “You shall not….” The newness of Spirit is based upon a life that comes from within! This is such a dramatic difference, even though the result is that “the righteous requirement of the law is fulfilled in us.” (Rom. 8:4) The way we fulfill the Law is of vital importance. That is the essential difference I want to show you - the difference in nature. We are preaching about a salvation and a sanctification that are totally dependent on Christ and founded on His completed work. There is no room for works and self-effort. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works…” (Eph. 2:8-10).

The pulpit for “the oldness of the letter” is Mt. Sinai where the Law was given. The pulpit for “the newness of Spirit” is Golgotha where Jesus was given as a sacrifice for sin.

Religious rules and human tradition have no place in the Gospel

Ever since I was called, at a young age, to teach the Gospel, I have realized that as Christians we have a tendency to bring a lot of bondage, religious rules and human traditions into the Christian life. These are burdens which are not a part of true Christianity as Christ intended it to be. What we have shared is a mixture of Law and Gospel, which has made people think that Christianity is a religion based on works and human performance.

There is a yoke upon Christianity around the world today, and this yoke has made us ineffective in our mission.

There is a yoke upon Christianity around the world today, and this yoke has made us ineffective in our mission. We have succeeded in “putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples,” even though the early Christians solemnly agreed not to do so! (Acts. 15:10) In the apostolic meeting in Jerusalem they agreed that the Mosaic Law, with its rules and regulations, did not apply to the New Testament Church. The converted were to experience the life and liberty in Christ, and have Christ as their Lord, Master and Head. All life should flow from Christ to them, and He should be their only source of life and godliness.

However, bondage tried to creep into the churches in Galatia. Even though the apostle Paul at that time was able to put things straight, new generations of Christians have experienced that same bondage attempting to influence them. I myself was pulled into the same flow of thoughts and traditional views both in the traditional evangelical denomination that I used to belong to, in the Pentecostal-Charismatic traditions, and finally in the traditions of the so-called Faith movement. I want you to understand that I am thankful for many things I learned through these movements, and I am thankful to ministers there. The grief in my heart that I am sharing with you is the grief of the yoke that has been creeping in on us, the yoke of man-made rules and traditions.

These traditions often create struggle and performance anxiety in people’s lives.

Jesus confronted the Pharisees and told them that they were annulling the Word of God because of their own rules and traditions. The same phenomenon is still occurring today, and it is robbing Christians of the liberty that Jesus provided for us in the redemption. These traditions often create struggle and performance anxiety in people’s lives. In many ways it becomes a gospel for the gifted and energetic, and then it produces losers who fail to live up to the standards which man’s religion of works continues to impose.

The apostle Paul warns us against those who “pervert the gospel of Christ.” (Gal. 1:7) My great concern is that often it is a perverted view of the Gospel that ripples into the non-Christian community causing the Gospel to sound like “bad” news rather than “good” news.

Believing I had to struggle to please God

I grew up in a traditional evangelical denomination that had a clear definition of grace. That has helped me to come to the clarity I now rejoice in. But at the same time there would be a lot of religious rules that made Christianity appear as a straitjacket to the outsiders. The pietistic environment that I grew up in was extremely strict. Among many other things, the law of keeping the Sunday holy included restricting the use of scissors or going fishing on a Sunday. Doing those things on a Sunday was considered sin! Later I joined the Pentecostal and the Charismatic circles; in some areas the struggle was actually worse. At that time, there were a lot of rules on dress code - for example, that women should have long hair and cover their heads. We were also instructed to abstain from certain types of food and drink. These rules were new to me, as we did not have them in the denomination I came from. I was not aware that eating black pudding was sin, or that the ladies needed to have long hair and a hat to please God. But I soon conformed to the rules. There were also certain requirements in order for you to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. You had to be at a certain level of holiness, and be capable of seeking and praying enough. I was energetic and threw myself into it with great zeal, feeling that I was being productive and useful to God. However, as strange as it would seem, it did not happen until I realized that Jesus had made everything ready for me a long time ago.

It is by grace through faith

I had to come to the end of my own struggling before the miracle could happen—by grace through faith! Later I read Galatians 3 and noticed that the apostle Paul was writing about the same thing. It is not only salvation that we receive by grace through faith; we also receive the Spirit without works, just by hearing and believing - by grace (Eph. 2:8-9).

Burdens Jesus already carried
The “Faith Movement” had some of the same phenomenon when it came to struggling with performance Christianity, but in different areas. There the struggle was found in the areas of prayer, warfare against devils and demons, and struggling to have more faith. Many pastors were also striving because of the focus on church growth.

the ministry of condemnation belongs to the Old Covenant. I have given you the ministry of righteousness, the ministry of reconciliation and the ministry of the Spirit

You know, the invitation of Jesus is still valid, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” (Matt. 11:28-30, NLT, emphasis added.)

God revised my outlines

Let me share a life changing encounter with God that happened to me in the Seventies. At the time I was baptized in the Holy Spirit, and I was eager to preach about faith. I realized that “all things are possible to him who believes.” (Mark 9:23) So I tried to preach about faith, and I was frustrated about the attitude Christians had towards the Word of Faith.

I had been taught to be the kind of revivalist who tries the best he can to give as many as possible as much guilt as possible, and then invite them to the altar. Seemingly, this kind of meeting gave a lot of results, and sometimes most of the congregation responded to the altar call. It was after such a meeting, where I had rebuked the congregation because of their lack of faith, that the Holy Spirit whispered to my heart, “This is not preaching the Word of Faith. This is the ministry of condemnation!”

I was shocked! In my opinion I had been preaching faith. However, the Lord showed me that the only thing preaching like that would create was condemnation; people motivated by guilt and shame. He said to me, “The Word of Faith creates faith! However, this kind of preaching creates condemnation, and the ministry of condemnation belongs to the Old Covenant. I have given you the ministry of righteousness, the ministry of reconciliation and the ministry of the Spirit.” (See 2 Cor. 3:6-11.)

T.L. Osborn says, “You can not preach the good news mad, you can only preach the good news glad!”

Then He guided me through my teaching outlines, and I had to throw away more than half of them, including my special sermon, “You Cannot Fool God.” For me that was tough! However, it was after this revising that the turning point in my ministry came. I used to be a mad preacher, but now I am a glad preacher! T.L. Osborn says, “You can not preach the good news mad, you can only preach the good news glad!”

Moving the Pulpit from Sinai to Golgotha

My first encounter with Dr. David Yonggi Cho was in a meeting in Norway in 1981. He is the founder and pastor of “Yoido Full Gospel Church” in South Korea. This is the largest church in the world. Dr. Yonggi Cho told us about how he had visited a classmate from Bible school who experienced stagnation and decrease in the number of church members. Dr. Cho was experiencing growth and increase, and so this friend had invited Dr. Cho to help. Dr. Cho preached a liberating message about how Jesus redeemed us from the curse of the Law. People were set free and became happy and many received salvation, baptism in the Holy Spirit, and healing.

Dr. Cho noticed, however, that his friend was not content. The more glorious the meeting was, the grumpier he became! Subsequently, his reaction came. He responded saying something like this: “You shouldn’t preach like that to this congregation! I know them. They need to be rebuked. They need to understand how things ought to be! Every Sunday I chastise and admonish them, because that’s what they need.”

He guided me through my teaching outlines, and I had to throw away more than half of them, including my special sermon, “You Cannot Fool God.

”That’s when Dr. Yonggi Cho said the liberating words that are the title of this article: “You have to move the pulpit from Mt. Sinai to Golgotha!” In other words, move from where the Law was given to where grace was given. He explained it in more detail saying: “Even a dog knows better and would start to eat at the neighbor’s if it would be hit in the head every time it came to eat!”

Imagine how many churches, chapels and assembly rooms are almost empty, simply because the message has “hit people in the head.”  They have heard phrases like these: “What we need is…,” “If we only had been more…,” “As for myself I know…,” “I’ve received a word that has become so serious to me….”

The whole atmosphere has been that of Mt. Sinai! If it has not been “blackness and darkness and tempest” (Heb. 12:18), it surely has been rules and regulations and requirements - “You shall” and “You shall not!”

The newness of Spirit and Golgotha

In fact, it is quite possible to bring the oldness of the letter into the Christian life, so that even the Christian life becomes full of rules, regulations and requirements: “You have to read and pray. You have to tell others about Jesus. You have to attend church services, etc.” The newness of the Spirit, fulfills all these expectations, but it happens through the power of the inner life, and not through outward requirements.

In other words, move from where the Law was given to where grace was given.

Because “the oldness of the letter” has been permitted to survive, Christianity has become a religion of works, just like any other religion. But our faith is futile and of no value without the living Christ who has been raised from the dead (1 Cor. 15:14-20). All our faith is based upon the new man who was created when Christ rose from the dead. Inasmuch as we died to sin and were raised with Him, we now live a new life (Rom. 6:1-11). It is all based on the work that took place on Golgotha, and all we are to share is based upon that finished work. We share about a new nature that is part of “the newness of Spirit,” and we leave “the oldness of the letter” alone on Mt. Sinai.

The headline seems contradictory. Is Christianity without the Gospel possible? It depends on how we define Christianity. If becoming a Christian is about salvation, being born-again and following Jesus, then there is no Christianity without the Gospel. If, on the other side, we view Christianity as a cultural heritage, an institutional religion or a religious doctrine, then there is not much room or need for the Gospel.

We hear much today about the threat against Christianity. Many look at the secularized western society with laws that disregard the Bible, while others cite the advancement of Islam as our major threat. We are encouraged to fight against these forces of secularism and false religion if Christianity is to survive. Books, magazines, and articles are published and sermons are preached where the world around us is described in negative terms. We are fighting immorality, corruption, and secularization. The solution according to many writers is more Christian unity, more “spiritual warfare” and more “unity.” If only all churches could come together and come into agreement, stand united, then we would be strong and have a chance, and maybe revival would come.

If Christianity is about tradition and western culture built on Judeo-Christian principles, then the above reasoning is, of course, correct. This rationality leaves little or no expectation or faith in the power of the Gospel. If Christianity is simply about our efforts to unite and fight evil, what really then is Christianity? In fact, those who question the survival of Christianity, with that question, are actually demonstrating their lack of understanding. Those who believe in the power of the Gospel are not concerned about the survival of a religious form, but our concern is that the Gospel would have “free course.” We know that the Gospel is God’s power and it shall be preached to all nations (Matt. 24:14). If only the Gospel is given room, it contains the life of God and it will prevail.

The important thing is to be born-again.

Christianity without the Gospel is not Christianity at all, and it is not worth fighting for. The Greek word “evaggelio” means “good news” or “glad tidings.” What is this message of good news and glad tidings? It is that God was in Christ and put the world’s sins on Jesus; the world was then reconciled to God through what Jesus did on the cross (2 Cor. 5:18-19; Rom 5:10). Jesus solved the world’s sin problem – He died and rose again. He is now alive and all those who receive Him, receive power to become God’s children. When we turn from self-sufficiency to receiving the Good News of what Jesus has done, we are born-again. Those who receive Jesus become new creations; the nature of righteousness and love comes into us. Then the Gospel has victorious power in itself to transform both the individual and the society.

We are not fighting for a cultural heritage or a tradition - it is the Gospel we are fighting for.

The great question is if we are born-again, or not. The message of grace is simply an offer to the entire world to receive what Jesus has done. And when we receive it, we are recipients of a new life. Muslims need to be born-again. Buddhists, Hindus, Shintoists, Atheists, and especially Christians need to be born-again. We are not fighting for a cultural heritage or a tradition - it is the Gospel we are fighting for.

Our hope with Global Grace Network.

Our hope with the Global Grace Network is that many will rise up across the world to take up the battle against the deceptive, merit-based religion that focuses on human performance. Neither human wisdom, nor legalistic religion has any power in it. The power is in the Good News.

The important word is “Gospel.” As far as we know Jesus never used the words “Christian” or “Christianity.” Instead He spoke much about the Gospel. Paul, Peter and the other disciples continued in that same style. We, on the other hand, hear little about the Gospel, but much about the defense of Christianity. Maybe a renewed focus on the fact that “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16), would lead to survival of real Christianity and the salvation of the world.

Moving the pulpit from Sinai to Golgotha.

In this edition of our newsletter we deal with “moving the pulpit from Sinai to Golgotha.” Golgotha represents the Gospel while Sinai represents legalistic performance-oriented religion. As long as the pulpit is at Sinai, we are preaching the requirements and rules, which must be adhered to, in order for God to move. When we preach from Golgotha we are declaring the finished work of Christ, in whom we are identified in His death and resurrection. 

Who is preaching in your church this Sunday?

In our seminars I frequently ask pastors: “Who is preaching in your church this coming Sunday?” Then I tell the story of the prodigal son and for a moment I imagine:  What if the father was not standing there, looking for the lost son, but instead the older brother was waiting at the door? What message would he have given to the prodigal? There would have been no kiss, hug, fatted calf, ring, or celebration. The prodigal’s humble statement, “I’m not worthy to be called your son,” would have been met with: “You surely aren’t worthy, and don’t even think you are going to enter into father’s house. No, you will be staying with the servants until we can test the validity and sincerity of your heart.” Imagine, how discouraging. Surely the prodigal would have responded: “Yes, I know, I’m unworthy and useless; send me out with the servants.” You see, the father didn’t even allow the prodigal to go through his long, prepared speech of penance and remorse. The father represents Golgotha, while the older brother represents Sinai. Who is preaching in your church this Sunday? Is it the older brother, preaching from the Law of Moses constantly exalting, prioritizing and focusing on human failure and shortcoming? Is there continual emphasis on why people aren’t healed, why families aren’t saved and why revival hasn’t come? Are there constant paths of five steps, seven steps, twelve steps or twenty-five steps to breakthrough and victory proclaimed in your pulpit? Then it is the older brother preaching. The message is from Sinai. When we preach from Golgotha, there is a lavishly loving Heavenly Father with arms wide open, welcoming the lost and despairing son. The message from Sinai has no power to change lives; instead it arouses in us a desire to sin. The message from Golgotha transforms lives.

Christianity from Sinai is Christianity without the Gospel. Move your pulpit to Golgotha. That’s the message that transformed the world 2,000 years ago, and when preached, it will have the same effect once again.

God did it again – totally surprised me! I was in the Netherlands on a two-week business trip, and crossing the street going back to the hotel I sensed the Father speak these words to me: “There is no one I love more than you!”

It startled me, could this be true? Instantly a few other people came to my mind whom I thought surely He would love more than me. But then after a few seconds I saw it: God’s love is strong and intense, and it is equal towards everyone! Tears came in my eyes… Surely there is no one God loves more than me – or more than you – or more than the people you meet today.

John lived in this awareness and named himself “the disciple whom Jesus loves.” Jesus also lived in this awareness and spoke about himself, “the Father loves the Son – and shows Him all that He Himself is doing.” In John 15:9 Jesus says, “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you.” This enormous love brought Jesus to the cross and caused Him to take the world’s judgment on Himself!

This month’s newsletter is all about Rediscovering The Gospel! Ask God for a paradigm shift as you read the teaching articles by Peter Youngren and Steve McVey, as well as the testimony called Amazing Grace.

Thank you for all your e-mails, your thankfulness, and your eagerness to know Jesus and the Gospel. GGN will each month continue to reveal God’s grace to all of us. Also have a look at the Bible College ADs - maybe this is YOUR chance to get to know His love and grace even better. Remember, there is no one He loves more than you!   

Major parts of the world have been “Christianized”… now let the whole world be “Gospelized.”

“Revolution”

is a strong word that means “to turn upside down.” Why a “Gospel Revolution?” Why not words like “renewal” or “revival?” Simply put, the problem is so deep that nothing less than a revolution will do – a paradigm shift in our understanding of the Gospel is needed. Some suggest that America has become Gospel hardened. I don’t think so.  America must hear the Gospel.

The Gospel is what God has already done through Christ.

As long as our question is, “What must I do?” the answer will always be, “One thing you lack.”

Religion focuses on what “we must do” to be saved, healed, prosper or have revival. The rich young ruler asked Jesus, “What must I do to be saved?” Jesus responded, “One thing you lack.” This summarizes the dilemma of all religions. As long as our question is, “What must I do?” the answer will always be, “One thing you lack.” What must we do to get revival? What will it take? How much prayer, fasting, studying and faith is required? What will it take to be healed? Five steps, ten steps or fifteen steps to my healing? Somehow each sick person will fall below the grade. Religion focuses on human performance and self-effort, while the Gospel liberates. Our question is no longer, “What must I do?” but, “What has Jesus done?” Our prayer is, “Lord, let my eyes be open to see what You have done for me.”

The Gospel is the power of God.

It does not merely release God’s power – it is the power of God! When we speak the Gospel, power comes out of our mouth. While we depend on the Holy Spirit, it is not a matter of praying the power down but rather, preaching the power out. When the good news of what God in Christ has done comes out of our mouth, it is like beams of light driving away darkness.

The Gospel puts us in the “it is finished” era of history.

it is not a matter of praying the power down but rather, preaching the power out

This era began with the death and resurrection of Jesus, and by the time the day of Pentecost came, the Gospel era was in full swing. Before that time, people looked forward to what was to come; now we look back to what has already happened. We read the Old Testament in a new light – each account viewed through the light of what Jesus has already done. We filter the Old Testament through our New Covenant glasses. The primary application of the story of David and Goliath can no longer be that of Goliath symbolizing our human problems. Rather, David represents the Son of David (Jesus), and Goliath, the devil and his kingdom. We see in David’s defeat of Goliath a symbol of what Jesus had done when He stomped on the devil’s head at the cross of Calvary. We no longer seek “our victory” – we now enter into the victory of our “David,” Jesus Christ.

When we wrestle against the schemes of evil principalities and powers, we seek not to defeat them. We merely stand in the victory Christ has already provided – Satan was defeated 2,000 years ago.

In the pre-resurrection era people worked in order to get things. Our spiritual activities are discovering and learning to walk in what we already have through Christ. Everything is now ours – things past, present, or future; heavenly things, earthly things; every blessing is ours through Christ Jesus. When we look at Jabez’ prayer, “Oh Lord that You would bless me,” we filter that prayer. We pray in the New Covenant fashion: “Thank You Lord that you have already blessed me with every spiritual blessing in Christ. Help me to see more fully all that you have given me.” (Ephesians 1:3)

The Gospel is all about Jesus.

The core of the Gospel is Christ as our righteousness. I find myself preaching less salvation, prosperity, healing, and signs and wonders than before. Instead I preach Jesus Christ our righteousness – and salvations, healings, signs and wonders follow.

This is one of the stark differences before and after the resurrection. The pre-resurrection preachers, for example John the Baptist, preached about the sins and flaws of the people in order to induce repentance. The New Testament preachers, starting with the apostles and Philip the evangelist, preached Christ. They induced repentance from self-reliance and trust in our own righteousness by pointing people to Christ.

“The world does not have a SIN problem; the world has a SON problem.”

The founder of the Missionary Alliance church, A.B. Simpson, coined the phrase: “The world does not have a SIN problem; the world has a SON problem.” At first glance this statement is difficult for many to digest. However, as we look at the scriptures without the blinders of tradition, we see that Jesus is the Lamb of God who has taken away the sins of the world (John 1:29). He did it by one sacrifice – once and for all. Jesus’ blood is not only the appropriation for our sins, but also for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2). People have not heard this message. Instead they have been told they need to deal with their sin, when in fact Christ has already dealt with our sins and reconciled the world to Himself – not counting people’s sins against them (2 Corinthians 5:18-19). The Holy Spirit no longer convicts people of their sins, but of the sin of not believing in Jesus (John 16:8-11).
It’s all wrapped up in Jesus now.

The Gospel is that God has judged the world’s sins.

Frequently I hear people talk about God judging America or some other nation. Very little is spoken of how God has already judged the sins of America with the judgment that fell on Christ (Isaiah 53:5-6).

The Gospel transforms human behavior.

The grace of God that saves us is the same grace of God that teaches us to live holy and righteous in an ungodly world (Titus 2:11). Many have heard they must “clean up” their lives to receive God’s grace. This is a false teaching, because humans do not have the ability to “clean up” themselves. If they did there would be no need for Christ’s death on the cross. In fact, we humans are hopeless. Five hundred years ago the Protestant Reformers had it right when they spoke of the doctrine of the “total depravity” of man. The apostle Paul describes this depravity in vivid language: “There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; they have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one. Their throat is an open tomb; with their tongues they have practiced deceit; The poison of asps is under their lip; Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; Destruction and misery are in their ways; and the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes.” (Romans 3:10-13)

What a statement! This is the human race, incapable to reform ourselves. At best, we camouflage the true condition of our sinful heart by religious behavior.

once the human heart is transformed then the behavior will also change

Only one hope remains – becoming a new creation in Christ. Our own willpower is insufficient to make us repent; in us lies nothing good. All that matters is if we become a new creation in Christ (Galatians 6:15).

That is why Paul says, “I am not ashamed of the Gospel.” Why? The Gospel makes us new creations. It is the power of God! It is not just a story that sounds nice, logical and religious. It transforms the human heart; once the human heart is transformed then the behavior will also change.

A Gospel Revolution shows the stark contrast between the Gospel and all religion.

The Gospel is glorious, fantastic, awesome, and beautiful. Let’s not reduce it to the level of mere religion.

A Gospel Revolution frees believers.

One of the great tragedies of modern Christianity is there are all too many bound-up, intimidated, held-back believers. People who have gone to church their entire lives are still looking for their “breakthrough.” Sadly, some have not yet discovered their sins have been forgiven, and that we already have everything in Christ. In this state of defeatism, what hope do we have to offer the world? This makes our message unattractive. If we who profess to have the truth are not yet free, why would anyone want to join our ranks? This battle for the freedom of believers is not new. The believers in Galatia had retreated from their freedom in Christ, away from the Gospel of grace into performance-driven religion. Paul wrote: “Stand fast in the liberty where Christ has set you free.”

A Gospel Revolution takes believers out of the “have not” category.

It does away with the distasteful picture of believers holding a tin cup, asking God for evermore breakthroughs, blessings, and benefits. Instead, we are now living in the light of the revelation that “of Him we are in Christ Jesus who has become for us wisdom from God – and righteousness, sanctification and redemption.” (1 Corinthians 1:30)

A Gospel Revolution elevates the cross of Jesus above human wisdom.

our task is not to pass on human wisdom – we are to preach the cross of Christ

Human wisdom teaching continues to be popular. Without God’s grace through what Jesus has done, the best we have today is the self-help section in the local bookstore where many authors give good advices. There are many life enhancement gurus on TV who do their very best to inspire people to live better lives. I applaud their efforts, but all this advice lacks the power to transform human behavior. It is one thing to have our problems analyzed and to receive advice on how to solve our situation. We nod our heads agreeing to deal with our situation differently, in the hope it will change. We may even have some degree of success through human wisdom, though ultimately we will all fail.

The Gospel is in a totally different sphere. Paul warns of human wisdom making the cross of “no effect.” Just like the Greeks 2,000 years ago, many today look for wisdom. It appeals to our mind and logic. We all like things which sound reasonable and well thought out. However, our task is not to pass on human wisdom – we are to preach the cross of Christ. Why? Human wisdom at its best will still fail. Even well-intentioned people cannot live up to the wisdom principles they know to be right.

All too often, Christ’s Gospel is pushed aside for human wisdom teaching. It is popular to draw much teaching out of the book of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. These books are the Word of God, but if you read them in the light of the New Covenant, you realize that Jesus Christ has become our Wisdom. Jesus Christ is the one who makes it possible to live these truths. Without a 24/7   relationship with Christ, we will all fall short of the truths put forth by Solomon and other writers. This is why the scriptures read: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:19-24) 

A Gospel Revolution empowers believers.

The world must hear that their sins have been cancelled.

Today some focus much time on the devil and darkness, but this was never the case in the Book of Acts. They did not engage in the type of spiritual warfare that we see quite prevalent in some circles today. Instead their focus was on letting the light shine so darkness would be dispelled. One of my favorite shows for years on television was CNN’s “Crossfire”, where two opposing sides would argue different political positions. Sometimes current Christianity has become like the “Crossfire” show. We argue about many things that really are not all that important. We go to great lengths to protest when city hall puts “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas” on its lawn. Naturally, if I should make the decision I would put “Merry Christmas” everywhere. I like the name of Christ. To be honest though, what difference does it make if people are not born-again? Why do we fight so hard in these areas when the apostle Paul says neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but what means something is that we are a new creation in Christ (Galatians 6:15)? What good is it if our country adheres to Christian values or traditions and yet people are not born-again? Naturally, I favor Christian values, but mere values do not save people – the Gospel is the power of God to salvation.

A Gospel Revolution lights up the world.

The apostle Paul wrote about the light of the Gospel and he added: “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness’, made His light shine in our hearts.” (2 Corinthians 4:6a) That light is in us! We have this Gospel treasure in us. The solution to every human dilemma is to let God’s light shine forth. The world must hear that their sins have been cancelled. Do you want your family, your city, your church, and your nation to love God? How does it happen? It is quite simple. We love God because He first loved us.

When people see the brilliance of the Gospel, they will naturally want to share it.

The more we show people how much God loves them, the more they will love Him back. We are not initiators – God has initiated everything. We no longer look for a move of God – we see that God has already moved. When we discover what He has done, our response is one of reciprocal love, service, dedication and sanctification.

A Gospel Revolution makes witnessing natural.

Sometimes we decide to “go witnessing” for a couple of hours. How unnatural to set aside witnessing for a time slot, instead of sharing Christ whenever someone comes across our path by simply letting the light in us shine. For years I have tried to get people to share the Gospel with their friends. I’ve since stopped. I now focus on helping people discover how great the Gospel is. When people see the brilliance of the Gospel, they will naturally want to share it. If you found out that your local Mercedes Benz dealership was selling their cars at a 90% discount, wouldn’t you tell your friends? Of course. If Dell were giving away their latest home computer for free, in unlimited supply, then surely you would share it with people. When we discover the awesome reality of the Gospel, we can’t be held back.

The world is ready for the Gospel Revolution.

This message speaks to the hurting human conscience, wounded by trying to live up to what one knows is right and continually failing.

Millions, even billions, are tired of their old worn-out lives full of failures and regrets. What an opportunity to offer people new life! Exchange your old for new. This message speaks to the hurting human conscience, wounded by trying to live up to what one knows is right and continually failing. The message of God’s grace – the underserved, unearned, unmerited favor of God – brings freedom to all who believe. As long as we look at Christianity as merely values, ethics, and human performance, we are no different than any other religion. Once we free the Gospel from man-made religion, a new day will dawn. Let the Gospel be what it is – brilliant, shining, beautiful, attractive, and empowering. The revolution has begun – the world is waiting! 

The church-god I envisioned as a child, and even during the early years of my ministry, is nothing like the Father I have come to know in recent years.

I’ve changed a lot over the years in many ways. Maybe the way I’ve changed the most is centered on how I see God. The church-god I envisioned as a child, and even during the early years of my ministry, is nothing like the Father I have come to know in recent years.
It’s true that God never changes. He really is the same yesterday, today and forever. But as the barnacles of the rigorous, rules-keeping, regimented religion of my yesteryears have been scraped away by the growing revelation of His outrageous love, I’ve come to see Him in a different light than I ever knew in my past.

God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

My view was that God hated sin and, since that was one thing I was good at doing, I needed help to know how to keep Him at bay.

I grew up seeing God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit as a team who each had their own unique perspective and approach to me. My view was that God hated sin and, since that was one thing I was good at doing, I needed help to know how to keep Him at bay. That’s where the Holy Spirit came in. His role was to come to me and tell me in no uncertain terms to “stop it!” Sometimes He would use feelings of guilt and shame. At other times He would sternly remind me that God brought me into this world and He could just as easily take me out if I didn’t straighten up and fly right.
Then came Jesus. My view was that He came to keep God from doing what He was itching to do – zap me. I felt like God had one last nerve and I had gotten on it. Jesus was there to shush God when He was about to go off on me by holding up His hands and saying, “Father, remember, – the scars, the scars!” “Oh, yeah,” God would say and then He would calm down for a while until I royally screwed up again and it became necessary for Jesus to repeat the whole thing.

Is it any wonder I had trouble feeling intimacy with God? The sad thing is that I don’t think my perspective was unique. I meet many people today who still believe that there is somehow a dichotomy between the Father and Son when it comes to their acceptance of us. Many think that the Father is the nervous, on-edge type, and that Jesus is the One who sits by His right hand to calm Him down. The Holy Spirit? They see Him as the behavior-policeman.

They’re all on the same team.

the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are really all on the same team

In reality, it’s not like that at all. The good news is that, contrary to what many believe, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are really all on the same team. There has never been one moment when they weren’t of the same mind and heart toward you.
In the inner sanctum that exists between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, there has always been nothing less than a loving intimacy that defies human definition or even description. Think of the most passionate and tender and touching and enduring love-relationship you’ve ever had with another person in this world. Multiply it by an infinite number and you won’t even begin to get close to the love shared among the Trinity.
The amazing news of the Gospel of grace is that this divine dance isn’t a closed party. Their love is so great that it’s too big to be contained and too intense to be restrained. So the Trinity threw the doors of this private club wide open at the cross and cried out across time and eternity, calling in “the poor and maimed and blind and lame.”

They’re all on your side.

Their love is so great that it’s too big to be contained and too intense to be restrained.

The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost all see things the same way, do things the same way and see you the same way. They’re all on your side. There’s a party going on right now and, by His grace, you’re in.
Is that how you see God? I hope so, because it’s true. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit love you and want you to relax and enjoy the party. That’s what abundant living is all about.

Before I share this testimony, I want to tell you some information about myself. I am a third generation Pentecostal believer and preacher. I grew up hearing and singing “Amazing Grace,” but even after having been saved for over 23 years and in ministry for 20 years, I had little understanding of that Amazing Grace.

Mixing law and Grace.

For years I have heard and even ministered a mixed message of Law and grace. But finally I realized that I was burning myself out, busy “doing” ministry. I have for many years had the privilege of ministering in many nations in the world. But many times I have returned from these trips with a tremendous cloud of condemnation and feeling guilty for not having performed to my fullest.

If you ask my wife Trace, she will tell you that I wasn’t easy to live with. This would last for weeks and months – I couldn’t shake off these chains of performance religion. I had heard teaching over the years that made me believe that it was how long I prayed and fasted that determined my performance – when really it is all about Jesus. I struggled a lot – even though I could quote Romans 8:1, “There is therefore no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus”.

I had heard teaching over the years that made me believe that it was how long I prayed and fasted that determined my performance

Many of us can quote the scriptures, but they’re not really a living reality in us. Because I felt and preached and heard so much preaching on being performance-driven, I thought it was my fasting and my praying that would give me more anointing.  I had heard and even preached “if – then…” Then there would follow a list of seven steps, six steps or even twelve steps. There were message titles such as “If You Want More Anointing Then…” And because I felt I had not followed the steps, I assumed that was why everyone was not saved or healed in the meetings I was doing.

Set free from own effort.

But then one day I came across the ministry of Pastor Peter Youngren and Pastor Joseph Prince who delivered a message to me that really set me free. I thought I was free but now I know I am free, not because of what I have done but because of what Jesus has done. It was like I had been walking through life with a flashlight on the Word of God, but when this message of Grace and the finished work of Christ Jesus was revealed to me, it was like a whole floodlight opened over and in my life. I began to see Jesus and what He did for me throughout the scriptures.

It has changed my life and ministry to the point where I have had to go through messages I used to preach and throw them away because they were a mixture. I have learned to relax in Him and realize that it’s not me – it’s Him! Why? Because of what Paul the Apostle says: Christ in you.

Somebody said to me recently, in fact it was a pastor who said it: “Yes, but how much of Christ is in you – what percentage is in you?” My response was that 100% is in me, because He is in me and as He is, so am I.

The ministries of Pastor Peter Youngren and Pastor Joseph Prince, and also a very important life source for me, the Global Grace Network Newsletter, have become an inspiration and also a great ministry resource. I have preached many of the messages from the newsletters.

In the process of this amazing grace transformation, a woman I have known for many years e-mailed me and asked me a question. She had earlier been a part of a church worship team, but through things that had happened in the church, she had been away from church for over 20 years. She now had four children by four different men.

when this message of Grace and the finished work of Christ Jesus was revealed to me, it was like a whole floodlight opened over and in my life

But as the Father in the story of the prodigal son, I knew the Father was looking and awaiting her return. The question she asked was: “If I die tonight, where will I go?” Many times I hear Christians give the answer that you will be going to hell. Well, I began to e-mail her what the Father was saying to me from the prodigal son. I said to her: “You think you are unworthy like the prodigal son. But the Father ran to him and embraced Him.” I was able to share with her that before you began to run towards Him, He ran to you and embraced you in Christ.

Romans 5:8: “But God demonstrates His own love towards us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Reconciled to God.

2 Corinthians 5:18-19 (AMP):
“But all things are from God, Who through Jesus Christ reconciled us to Himself [received us into favour, brought us into harmony with Himself] and gave to us the ministry of reconciliation [that by word and deed we might aim to bring others into harmony with Him]
It was God [personally present] in Christ, reconciling and restoring the world to favour with Himself, not counting up and holding against [men] their trespasses [but cancelling them], and committing to us the message of reconciliation (of the restoration to favour).”

Reconciled – Greek word, katallasso – means to change, exchange, reestablish, make things right, remove enmity. It describes the reestablishing of a proper, loving, interpersonal relationship, which has been broken or disrupted.

And today I can tell you that she is now reconciled and has reestablished a proper, loving relationship with God the Father. She also attends a Pentecostal church in her city and is, in fact, very involved in the life of the church. That’s how powerful the message is – Amazing Grace!

So this message is now all I know. I preach “Jesus Christ and Him Crucified,” declaring to the nations: be reconciled to God.

Romans 1:16: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.”
Paul is saying: I refuse to give up on this message, to modify it or leave it for another message.

And I echo those same words: I refuse to give up this message or to modify it or leave it for another. Because this message transforms lives, it can transform nations.

Thank God for His Amazing Grace!