"Surpassing the Pharisees"

The law of God is important to Christians. Not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, has disappeared. Every jot and tittle must be fulfilled. The law is as relevant today as it was on the day God engraved it into the tablets of stone. Therefore, says Jesus,
(Mt 5:1) Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

By grace we are forgiven when we break the law. But grace brings more than the forgiveness and redemption. It also saves from the tyranny of sin. It brings obedience and holiness.

What is grace? It is that amazing free gift of God which delivers a man from the curse of the law and enables him to keep the law. Grace is that which brings me to love God and keep his commandments. "If you love me," says Christ, "you will obey what I command" (John 14:15).

I The Righteousness of the Pharisees
In many ways the scribes and Pharisees were outstanding people. The scribes, for instance, were men who spent their time teaching and explaining the law; they were authorities on the law of God. They gave their whole life to the study and explanation of it. They were the men who made copies of it, exercising great care as they did so.

The Pharisees were the men who were famous for their law-obedience. They were people who set themselves apart by their careful observation of rules and regulations that they themselves had set up. By their rules and regulations they tried to "build a fence around the law." Their intent was to protect the law and to prevent them from breaking the law.
The Pharisees, for example, said that on the Sabbath there is to be no cooking of food, no tying of knots, no loosening of knots, no separating of threads, no baking, no washing, no writing; you are to neither light a fire nor put out a fire. Of course, the Bible doesn't teach any of this. But, to keep the Sabbath holy, the Pharisees built a wall around the fourth commandment to make sure they don't break it!.

In this contaxt, it is even shocking to hear the words of Jesus in our text:
(Mt 5:20) For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Jesus says that the righteousness of the Christian must exceed that of the scribes and the Pharisees.

But, their righteousness was not righteous at all. They thought of themselves as being righteous. Others saw them as being righteous. They deluded themselves and fooled others. Jesus simply called them hypocrites.

II The False Righteousness of the Pharisees
The righteousness of the Pharisees was external and formal, rather than internal and of the heart. The Pharisees made a big show, a big drama, out of their righteousness. They prayed on the street corners and then they prayed out loud. They wanted everyone to see them and hear them when they prayed. When they gave money to the poor, they had someone blow a trumpet. Everyone would stop what they were doing and look to see who was giving and how much they were giving.

Some of the Pharisees were surprised that Jesus' disciples once sat down at the table and began to eat without first washing their hands. Jesus replied that the Pharisees are so concerned about the outside, but so negligent about the inside.
(Mat 15:19-20) For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. (20) These are what make a man 'unclean'; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him 'unclean.'
In another place Jesus compares the Pharisees to whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean (Mt 23:27).

The second charge which our Lord brought against the scribes and Pharisees was that they were more concerned with the ceremonial than with the moral. Their religion was all ceremony and no morality. As long as he had washed his hands, fasted, offered prayers, and went to the Temple, the Pharisee thought all was well with his soul. All that counts, he thought, was that he had been to temple worship. He did his religious duty. That was sufficient.

It is so easy to have the same kind of attitude today. There is a type of religion which does not hesitate to teach that as long as you go through certain ceremonies – like Sunday morning worship, or baptism, or confirmation – it does not matter very much what you do with the rest of the week. They think that all is well with their soul, because they have done their ceremonial religious duty.

The third charge that Jesus brings against the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees is that it was full of excuses. For instance, the Pharisees said that if you devoted your money to God you were thereby excused from giving help to your aged parents. They covered up their greed and their disobedience under a camouflage of religion (Mt 15:4,5). We can all rationalize our own sins and explain them away. It is so easy to find excuses. "Everyone does it," we may say. Or, "The government is so wasteful it is dumb of me to declare all my income to SARS." This is what the Pharisees did. They twisted things around to make what is wrong, look right.

The fourth charge the Lord brings against the Pharisees is that their righteousness was self-centred rather than God-centred. Jesus said,
(Luke 20:46) "Beware of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted in the marketplaces and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honour at banquets."

The fifth charge the Lord lays against the Pharisees is a complete absence of love and concern. They neglected mercy, justice, and faithfulness (Mt 23:23). They devoured widows' houses and dealt harshly with the poor (Lk 20:47).

The sixth and final charge is that the Pharisees thought their righteousness not only earned them a reward, but even gained them eternal life. They forgot that no one is righteous, not even one (Ps 14 & 53). They forgot that the good we do is not good enough. They forgot that no one deserves and earns anything; all rewards and salvation itself are only a gift of grace. In effect they were denying the power of sin and the grace of salvation.

We have to surpass the righteousness of the Teachers of the law. We have to be sincere. We have to change inwardly and not ceremomially, outwardly. We have to love and care. We have to seek God's purpose and desire to serve God wholehaetedly.
We have to be unselfish, God-fearing, Christ-loving followers who from the heart seek the Kingdom of God.
We cannot be hypocrites. We need to be righteous, because we love and because we love to serve - God and others! We need to surpass the scribes and the Pharisees, because we are from the depth of our souls excited about the grace and the mercy of God!

The Holy Spirit desires true life for us.

The Spirit challenges us to choose true life.
Last Wednesday we learned about the contrast between the natural sinful mind of man and a mind that has been changed by the Spirit of God. (Rom 8: 5 – 7).
This brings us to a challenge in verses 8 – 12.

Rom 8: 12 – 13 Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.

This challenge is also a contrast. It is a contrast between two choices. The first is is to pay to the sinful nature what we think we owe it. The second is to live by the Spirit.
Today we are bombarded by the untrue saying, that we need to pay ourselves first, before anything else and that we owe it to ourselves and deserve it. We buy the lie that implies that if we are completely sold out to God's Spirit, we are not going to experience the same degree of happiness, as when we live selfishly.
The result may be that we are trying to live for Jesus, yet we are at the same time trying to live most of all, for ourselves.

But if we are living by the Spirit, we are challenged to make two commitments. Firstly we need to put to death the misdeeds of the sinful human nature. Then secondly we need to aspire to wholeheartedly giving ourselves in thought, in energy, and in ambition to live by the Spirit.

The first commitment we have to make is to put to death the deeds of the old unsaved person. It means a radical (“put to death”) rejection of all practices which we know to be wrong. It results in a daily repentance, a daily turning away from all known sins. Jesus said, “If your eye offends you, pluck it out! If your hand offends you, cut it off!” This is a tough word from Jesus, and then he says: “It is better for you to go into heaven with one eye than into everlasting damnation.”

You do not owe your sinful nature anything! The Devil has tricked us into believing that we cannot live without self indulgence. But God has said, “I have set you free. You can and you will live an abundant life by walking in my Spirit.

We do not owe the old lost person we used to be, anything, but we owe the Lord a debt of love and gratefulness we cannot pay even if we continue to worship and serve him for all eternity.

Someone said that the opposite of love is not hate, but apathy. An attitude of, “I really do not care”, a complete disinterest in what the Spirit desires for as to aspire to.

The Spirit desires that we sincerely say, “Lord, I am yours. My time is yours. My talent is yours. My budget is yours. My family is yours. Everything I am is yours. I want to serve and love you, because I want to be 100% yours.”
May God give us such love because he has set us free from the bondage of the old mind and changed our minds to love and serve him more than anything!

Be blessed as you use the freedom Christ afforded you by his death and resurrection to be sold out to God, as his grace, mercy and fellowship remains with you, today and always.

My purpose in the Body of Christ.

1 Cor 12: 25 – 27 But God has combined the members of the body (of Christ) and has given greater honour to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honoured, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.

If we all have different functions and responsibilities, then what is our purpose in the body of Christ?

1 Cor 12: 25a “There should be no division in the body “ - Our first purpose is to promote unity - When every member does his/her part and submits to God in willingly working according to the gift of the Holy Spirit that God gave them, then the body of Christ will function in peace and unity. There are too many feet who want to be hands and too many ears who want to be eyes. When this happens, the Body is fractured and chaos results!

Verse 25b-26 “but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it.” The second purpose is to practice mutual care - We are a unit and as such we each have responsibilities, according to our gifting, to the other parts. When another believer is hurting, we need to respond to that need. We are not to seek a position that glorifies self, but we are to seek the good of the body of Christ and thereby glorify God. .

Verse 27 “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” The third purpose is to participate together in the activities of the Body - When a member hurts, it affects the entire body. When one is exalted, the entire body should be blessed by it. When all functions according the gifts received from the Holy Spirit, the Body operates well and accomplishes much.

Together we are a complete body, and individually each one of us is a small, but vital component of a very important instrument in the workings of the Holy Spirit in the body of Christ, the Church!

Did Christ abolish the law and the Old Testament?

When Paul says we are not under law, but under grace (Rom 6:14), isn't he also saying there no longer is any place for the law? When John the Baptist said the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus (Jn 1:17), wasn't he also saying the same thing? Someone once said to me, "We are a New Testament not an Old Testament church. It is the New Testament we should spend time with."

All of this leads me to ask: Is the law still applicable today? Or, what about the whole of the Old Testament – should we ever read or preach from it?
In today’s verse from the sermon on the mount, Jesus speaks to this. He says, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets ..." Matt 5:17 - 19.

I. Jesus: A Threat to the Law and Prophets?
As a teacher in Israel Jesus was unusual. First, at that time all teachers in Israel were Pharisees; but Jesus was not a Pharisee. He had not been trained as a Pharisee. So the people looked at him and said, "Who is this man without any formal training or education, who teaches and makes all these pronouncements?"

Second, in word and deed Jesus deliberately criticized the Pharisees and the teachers of the law. Don't forget, they were the leaders and teachers of Israel; almost everyone obeyed them and believed their every word. Jesus, who did not belong to their schools, dared to denounce what they taught.

Our Lord was not content with making only positive statements. He also criticized other doctrines. Our Lord was not hesitant to condemn wrong doctrine and we shouldn't be hesitant either.

Third, in contrast to the Pharisees, Jesus did not spend all his time explaining the law. He often preached grace and the love of God.

Fourth, again in contrast to the Pharisees, Jesus mixed with tax-collectors and sinners. He sat down with them and even ate with them. He not only broke all the Pharisees' rules and regulations, he actually seemed to be breaking them deliberately.

B All of this caused questions to arise. People wondered, in condemning the teaching of the scribes and Pharisees, was Jesus perhaps condemning the law and the prophets, our Old Testament, too?
Is this actually the case? What is it that Jesus is teaching us today?

II. Definitions: Law, Prophets, Fulfill
A To understand clearly what Jesus was saying we have to make sure we understand the terms that he used. First, what did Jesus mean by "the Law"? The law, as given to the children of Israel, consisted of three parts: the moral, the judicial, and the ceremonial. The moral law is the Ten Commandments and the great moral principles that were laid down once and for all. The judicial law is those rules given to Israel for that time and place telling them how to treat others jutsly and fairly in matters of the community and the state. The ceremonial law has to do with worship and offering, the ritual and ceremony used to approach God. By "the Law" Jesus has all of this in mind.

Second, what is meant by "the prophets"? The prophets would be those Scriptures in the Old Testament that do not fit the term "law" in the strict sense of the word. The law and the prophets therefore refers to the whole of the Old Testament. So Jesus says, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Old Testament."

B Jesus adds to this: "but to fulfill them." "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." Fulfill here does not mean to complete, to finish.
What Jesus says to us can be summed up in two principles. We find the first principle in verse 17 and the second principle in verse 18. I want to look at them in reverse order.

III The Demands of God's Law are Permanent
A The second principle stated by Jesus is that God's law is absolute; it can never be changed, not even modified just a wee bit. It is absolute and external. Its demands are permanent and can never be put to the side. Says Jesus,
(Mt 5:18) I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.

B The law which the voice of God dramatically announced from Mount Sinai, is as much for you and me as it was for Israel. It wasn't only Israel but also you and me who can have no other gods, who can't take God's name in vain, who must not steal, who must not commit adultery. It wasn't only Israel but also you and me who must worship God alone, who must use God's holy name only with reverence and awe, who must work to share with those in need, who must keep thoughts pure and holy. The law and the prophets, the whole of the Old Testament, says Jesus, is still applicable, relevant, and appropriate to us today.
We too must strive for a just society and we too must worship God in truth and in Spirit.

IV Jesus Came to Fulfill the Law.
A The first principle stated by Jesus is that he has not come to destroy, to abolish, or even to modify, the teaching of the law or the prophets. Rather, he has come to fulfill them, to carry them out, to give them perfect obedience:
(Mt 5:17) "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them."
We need to ask: in what way exactly does Jesus fulfill the law and the prophets? Everything prophesied about him, also through ceremony, happened when he came to us and was fulfilled.

B Jesus is the fulfillment not just of the prophets but also of the law. First, Jesus is the fulfillment, in and of himself, of the ceremonial laws and rules about worship. All these decrees speak of him and point at him.

Christ is also the fulfillment or the fulfiller of the Law's moral requirements. As the Son of God Jesus is eternally above the law; yet, he came as one under obedience to the law. And his comlete obedience is imputed righteousness, given to us, as if it is our own.

As we read the Gospels we can't help but notice how very careful our Lord was to observe the law; He obeyed it down to the smallest detail. Not only that, but he also taught others to love and obey the law. At the end of his life there was nothing of the law, not a jot or a tittle, that he had broken or disobeyed or violated. So Christ fulfilled the law by his perfect and unwavering obedience to it.

C. It was especially on the cross, however, that Christ fulfilled the law. Because of the Fall in the Garden God had pronounced judgment on all sin. Punishment of sin must be carried out. The law must be fulfilled. And it was, at Golgotha, when Christ suffered the punishment demanded by the law, when he completely and finally fulfilled the law of God.

And this is the Gospel - that Christ fulfilled the law, freed us from its punishment and wrath and kept the law in our place.
Therefore we become children of God only by grace, and only through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Men's Breakfast - 29 May!

What an exciting atmosphere for fellowship was created by the "bulls-stormers-geesvang" theme, followed by e message from Nehemiah 1.
Thanks Mark, Michelle, Babs, Pat and Salomi!

The gift of God is eternal life!

Rom 6: 23a – The wages of sin, is death.
Death refers to a spiritual condition. People without Christ don't hear spiritually. They can't communicate spiritually; they can't produce anything spiritually. Death is the consequence of sin. Sin causes decaying of lives.

Sometimes, you make mistakes that hurt somebody so much and are so bad that you can never make up for them. They may forgive you, but the scars remain forever.

Rom 6: 23b – but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Life refers here to a spiritual condition too. The person who has accepted Christ's salvation has received eternal life. They can hear, see and communicate spiritual truth. They are alive in Christ. Jesus said, "I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly." (John 10:10). What a contrast between Life and Death!

Life is available for you in Christ. "He who has the Son has life!” (I Jn, 5:12). You must have Christ, to have life.

Sometimes, you make mistakes that hurt so much and are so bad that you can never make up for them, because the wages of sin, is death.
But it is different with God! Whatever we have done to God, can be removed, can be changed and can even be forgotten by Him! For the gift of God is eternal life.

This new life in Christ, is available for you, today!

You are the salt of the earth!

Matthew 5:13: "The Salt of the Earth" T

Salt. It is one of the most important compounds in man's existence. Without salt the human body would cease to function. Without salt most foods would lose most of their savour.
In the ancient world covenants or treaties were usually ratified by the exchange of salt. The salt symbolized the endurance and faithfulness both partners would show to the covenant.

Salt was also the basis of much trade and commerce. Areas that were rich in salt traded this compound for gold, silver, and fine cloth. For ancient governments salt was an important source of tax revenue. In Tibet, Ethiopia, and other parts of Africa, salt cakes were used as money. In the Roman army a soldier's pay included an allowance of salt. The English word "salary" reflects this; it comes from the Roman word "solarium" which means "allowance of salt".

Salt, then, was a very important commodity in the ancient world.

Long before freezers and fridges were invented and long before people were able to put meats, fruits, and vegetables into sealed jars, there was only one thing that kept food from spoiling: salt! Only salt kept vast stores of food from rotting. Only salt stood between people and hunger during the winter months or dry season.
In many places in the Middle East land is quite acidic. The only way this land could become productive was by spreading a little bit of salt on it. In this way the salt acted like a fertilizer and promoted life and growth.
However, too much salt can also destroy land. In the ancient world it was the practice of conquering armies to spread large volumes of salt on the agricultural land of a defeated enemy. This would render the land infertile for at least 10 years.
Salt, then, prevents decay and, in small quantities, it acts as a fertilizer. For this reason many ancient people praised their god or gods for the gift of salt.

Christians Are the Salt of the Earth
Jesus identifies his followers as salt. "You are the salt of the earth," says Jesus. "Earth" in this statement means man or humanity.
Everyone listening to Jesus knew salt to be important and valuable. So Jesus was saying his followers are important and valuable people.
Christians are the salt of the earth. This means that in the world of men the followers of Christ have two essential things to do.

The first thing we do as the salt of the earth is hold back or prevent decay. Just as salt in the ancient world was the only thing which prevented food from spoiling or going rotten so the Christian, empowered by the Spirit, is a barrier between the world of men and complete decay, complete rottenness, and complete destruction.
Christians preserve life. The Christian is a preservative that keeps life good and wholesome and beautiful – he or she prevents decay and destruction.

The second thing we do as the salt of the earth is promote life and growth. Through us as salt the world of men can hear the Gospel of grace and salvation. Through us the world, by the operation of the Spirit, can move from darkness, death, and sin to light, life, and peace.

In actual fact it is God who is the salt of the earth. It is God who preserves life and promotes life and growth. What God has done is called us to be like him. He is salt and we are to be salt. We don't turn ourselves into salt; God does. It is God who has chosen us, who makes us, who ordains us, and who equips us to be the salt of the earth. In union with God through Christ his Son, his saltiness must become our saltiness.
What we must do, then, is let God have his way in our life.
We must live and function as the salt of the earth.

Devotion for Trinity Sunday, 30 May 2010

Abraham lived in a world of many gods. He was called from his home town Ur of the Chaldeans to be brought into fellowship with a radical new kind of faith – “Faith in One God only”. And this God could not be carved in stone or cast in metal. So Moses later declared the “God of Abraham” to be “One” and Isaiah preached with passion that the only One God was “holy, holy, holy” and beyond every human attempt to be packaged, controlled, or manipulated.

Hear Israel, the Lord our God, the LORD, is One!

He only is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus said that "when the Spirit of truth comes, he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. For all that the Father has is mine." Jesus also said: "Do you not know that the Father is in me and I in the Father?" And on the night of his betrayal he prayed that his church may be one "even as the Father and I are one."

The one true and only God of Abraham, who is "I AM" revealed to Moses, and who spoke through the prophets, is never alone. The very essence of who the One God is, is that he is a God in relationship. The essence of God is relationship, community, which means unconditional love. God, in relationship with himself revealed as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, also has one purpose for us – to live in relationship with him.

God is love. Therefore God is in essence “relationship”. And God, who essentially is “love and relationship”, desires relationship with us!
The Apostle Paul spoke of such care, such "charity", such love, in 1 Corinthians 13. This charity is patient and kind, not jealous or self-centered, not keeping a checklist of wrongs done against us. It is a love that "bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." It is greater than faith or hope. It is God’s own love given to his Son Jesus, and in our unity with Jesus we also receive this love as a gift of the Holy Spirit.
In this way, what makes God to be the Only One, his unique divine love, becomes ours as a gracious gift.

As we look around, we see the need. Not for a rational explanation of doctrine impossible to fathom or understand, but the need of a lonely human race who still needs the One God, who is love in relationships. On Trinity Sunday, God gives us an incomparable gift to share with the world so scared, depressed, anxious and lonely within this vast universe. As Christians we dare declare that behind the immeasurable creation, is the One who created everything, in order to have a relationship with us, because the essence of who he is, is love. And as he loves his Son, he loves us too. And his Spirit confirms what my spirit says, that I too am God’s beloved. I too have a relationship with the holy relationship, the Holy Trinity, our God.

Let us pray. Almighty Father, whose only Son before his suffering for our sake, prayed for his church to be one, as you and he are one: Bind us together in love that reflects the essence of your heart, that the world may believe in Jesus whom you have sent. In your mercy, give us this love, through Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives, reigns and redeems by the gracious work of the Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

May the grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ, and the love of God the Father and fellowship of the Holy Spirit be and remain with you always.

At Pentecost we receive the Spirit of adoption as children!

Rom 8: 15 & 17: All who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father! Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ

In this verse Paul introduced an amazing metaphor, namely our adoption as God’s children. Remember that Paul was not only a Jew, but also a Roman citizen. He certainly had the Roman practice of legal adoption in mind. In summary, it was the law that when a child was adopted, he had to pass from the patria potestas (meaning the absolute power of the father) of his biological father, into that of his adoptive father.

The adopted son lost all rights to his former family and gained all the rights of a fully legitimate child of his new family. He could then inherit his adoptive father’s estate, even if other, biological sons, were after his adoption born to his adoptive father. In the eyes of Roman law, the former life of the adopted person completely disappeared. The adopted person literally and absolutely had a new father.

As in legal Roman adoption, the new relationship into which our spiritual adoption brings us in no way makes us less God’s children than his natural Son, Jesus Christ. To the contrary, it gives us a new standing as heirs of God, in fact, “joint heirs with Christ. Our natural father, which is Sin, has no right to our lives anymore. We also do not inherit Sin’s legacy of being without God, here and in eternity, anymore. And we are freed from Sin’s absolute power over us.

No, we now inherit the Kingdom of God from our heavenly Father, both in this life and in the life to come! Only God may claim ownership of us and of our children. We belong to God, because we belong to our gracious Saviour, Jesus Christ, through the work of the Holy Spirit in us.
Since the first Pentecost, we Christians received the “Spirit of the adoption as children”.

Live then as children of God!

Those who are meek will receive the Holy Spirit.

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. (Matthew 5:5)

When Jesus made this statement, he certainly ran against the frame of mind of the Jewish leaders of the day. They thought that the only way to inherit the land was to overthrow the Roman government, and that certainly could never be done by being meek. They wanted to be aggressive and hard, not passive and soft and forgiving and kind.

Most people think the same today. Think about business. If you are in sales or marketing, meekness is not one of the attributes you are expected to acquire. You would rather hear, if you want to be successful, you have to get out there and grab the market by the throat!

But Jesus said that the meek shall inherit the earth. God chooses what the world despises and build his Kingdom with attributes that seem to be foolish in the eyes of the world. We believe that if we are are powerless, we are weak.
But God has chosen us. God has chosen us who are weak, to build his Kingdom by being meek.

Lets look at what meekness is not. You are not meek because you are timid. You are not meek because you are fearful. You are not meek because you are shy. You are not meek because you lack self-confidence. Meekness is not weakness. Meekness is also not about being nice or easy-going. It might not be your nature to get angry as easily as others. Some people can sit through virtual wars and never even notice. Meekness has nothing to do with that.

Meekness is a quality within our spirit which is very similar to humility. And its something God does in us. Meekness is seeing ourselves for who we are, in the light of who God is. Meekness is not expecting something because we think God owes it to us. Therefore, when God gives us a blessing, we are surprised that God has seen it fit to honour those who deserve no honour.

Meekness is knowing who we are in our need for the redeeming work of Jesus. It is to be completely dependent on the grace and the strength of God. If we are meek before God, we can be bold in his service, because we rely on his strength and power. Meekness is therefore not compromise, but it t is an attitude that bends to God’s will. Meekness before God sets one free to forget yourself, and make a stand for Jesus Christ.

Jesus said, "I am meek and lowly at heart." Yet, Jesus, when he saw the money-changers in the Temple, made himself a whip and drove them from the Temple. Yet, Jesus was meek, perfectly meek. Jesus was meek toward God. Jesus knelt in the Garden of Gethsemane and said, "Lord, not my will, but yours be done." It was as a result of his meekness that he would be willing to walk the road of the cross, to overcome our enemies called sin and death. His meekness made him victorious and being meek before God can make us victorious too. Jesus inherited the heaven and the earth, by being the meek Lamb of God who conquered our enemies: sin, death and being lost for ever.

Meekness holds two truths in balance. The first is that I cannot do anything good by myself. The second truth is that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Meekness is essential to salvation. Meekness is also essential to receiving anything from God. It is essential to receiving the gifts and the fruit of the Spirit. You cannot serve God effectively if you are not meek. You cannot care for your Christian brothers and sisters without meekness. You cannot first of all seek the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, if you are not meek.

Meekness is allowing the One who is meek and lowly at heart, Jesus the Christ, to rule in your lives and emotions.

Meekness, like all the fruit of the Spirit, is simply Jesus living in you.
Meekness is relying on the Holy Spirit that now lives in you.

"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth."

Celebrating Pentecost Sunday, 23 May 2010

Be a witness where you live – and to the ends of the earth!

Acts 1: 8 - But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria , and to the ends of the earth.

How will we do this?
Firstly, we are promised power. It is the power or ability that comes from being transformed by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit's primary ministry in us, is to bring us to Jesus and then make us more like Jesus. When we reach out to others, the Spirit will be working in them too, making them hungry for the promises of God. And the Sprit will be working in us to make our lives more attractive for both God and the world. He gives us the words to speak and he will help us to live the enthused lives to back up what we say.

Secondly, we are called to be witnesses. A witness tells what he has seen, heard, or experienced. We cannot testify about the Kingdom of God if we do not live in it. We cannot give away what we do not have. But, if I do have a personal experience of being part of God's family and a certain knowledge that I am God's child, being able to live a life that testifies of the Lord’s work in me, is a very simple thing. I simply share, in word or action, from my own journey of faith. Since I experience God's love, I love others. Because I experience God's generosity, I give to others.

Thirdly, our testimony move in ever outward going circles. The disciples began in Jerusalem where they lived and where people knew them.
This is often the hardest step.
When we speak about our relationship with Christ, our sincerity will be under scrutiny at home, because the people that know us personally and intimately, also know when we are faking it!
Only when we became trusted and accepted witnesses to Christ within our inner circle of family, friends and members of our congregation, can we move beyond our geographical, social, and cultural comfort zones to represent God’s good news, without embarrassing God’s work.

Are we guilty of trying to be Christians without the power of the Holy Spirit?
Do we share what we have personally experienced?
Are we willing to be both personal and boundary crossing in the sharing of our faith?

Blessings of the Power of Pentecost!
Hail the joyful day’s return,
hail the Pentecostal morn’,
morn when our ascended Lord
on his Church his Spirit poured.

Like the cloven tongues of flame,
on the twelve the Spirit came –
tongues, that earth may hear his call,
fire, that love may burn in all.

Lord, to you your people bend;
Unto us the Spirit send;
Blessings of this sacred day
grant us, dearest Lord, we pray!

Our God reigns!

Eph 1: 19 – 22 (CEV): - I want you to know about the great and mighty power that God has for us followers. It is the same wonderful power he used when he raised Christ from death and let him sit at his right side in heaven. There Christ rules over all forces, authorities, powers, and rulers. He rules over all beings in this world and will rule in the future world as well. God has put all things under the power of Christ, and for the good of the church he has made him the head of everything.

Christ is victorious. Jesus is in control. Jesus is in charge. Jesus is head over everything. Our God reigns!
This means that God uses his power in Christ for the good of his people, the church.
Christ rules all things that the church may grow in numbers, in faith and in maturity.
Christ rules all things that we may grow in love and joy and service and will be ready for eternity.

Christ rules! Our Jesus reigns! Our Redeemer is in control. Our Saviour, who died, now holds everything in his crucified hands.
Yes, even me! And you.

Blessed are the pure in heart!

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." (Matthew 5:8)

Watching the debate about morality and public integrity in our country is confusing. Most of us who live in South Africa like to think of ourselves as moral individuals. Yet, we time and again re-elect into power leaders who seemingly struggle with the demand to provide leadership that ensures protection of the vulnerable against the greed of the powerful!

While we may be able to impact the behaviour of individuals in our society by the restrictions of law, we will never be able to change the essence of a person's morality in that way. Limiting what a person can do outwardly does not change who that person is inwardly. Behaviour flows from the inward nature of an individual. You might say that is it a matter of the heart. It is a matter of internalised values! It is a matter of personal belief and of a personal relationship with a holy God!

So, when Jesus said, "Blessed are the pure in heart ..." He was emphasizing that what we all need is to be pure on the inside. In the Beatitudes, Jesus is dealing with principles which impact every area of our lives. This simple sentence, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" becomes a road map that will lead us to the fulfilment of a personal encounter with God. It is a call to heart-purity. Jesus is saying that the condition of our hearts before God is of first importance and that it flows from our relationship with God. Our priority as believers is to maintain a right heart attitude toward God. This relationship will internalise the principles of God's Kingdom as our personal values and it will show in our lives!

So what did Jesus mean when he spoke of pure in heart? What does pure really mean? Does it mean perfect? If it does, we are in trouble. The Greek word which is translated as pure is kitharas. It sounds like the word catharsis, because catharsis comes from this Greek word. It simply means to make pure by cleansing. It is used in psychology and counselling to refer to a cleansing of the mind and emotions.

The heart in Scripture refers to the mind, will and emotions. It refers to the control centre of the will. The writer of Proverbs said, "Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life" (Proverbs 4:23). The "heart" is our innermost self that determines our behaviour. When Jesus speaks of the pure in heart he is talking about a heart that is of pure motive before the Lord. Our hearts should be characterized by single-minded, undivided devotion to God.

How can we make our hearts pure? The answer to a great degree is found in the Beatitudes themselves. The second four Beatitudes are the result of walking in the first four:
In order to become pure in heart, we must see our need to only depend on God and respond to that need. We must walk through the progression of those who are "poor in spirit" and see our sinfulness. As those who "mourn" our sinfulness, we repent in godly sorrow for our sin. Our hearts are broken before God because we are not pure. We then will become "gentle" or meek before God. Humility marks those who are dealt with by God. It brings us to a place where we "hunger and thirst for righteousness" because we have seen that only the righteousness of God satisfies. This is the foundation we must lay if we are ever to become pure in heart.

The blessing: The reason we must become pure in heart, is that only those who are shall see God. God reserves intimate fellowship with himself to those whose hearts are focussed on their devotion to him. Then we will enjoy the privilege of catching a glimpse of his glory. This is the promise to all who are pure in heart. If we are, we will see God.

And if we see God, it will purifies our hearts! Blessed are those who have a closer walk with God, for their hearts will be pure, we can also say!

Those who are pure in heart will one day see God in his fullness as we stand before him in his eternal kingdom. We shall then behold his glory and stand in his presence forever.
For the here and now - they will enjoy a closer walk with God. They may journey with the Lord every day! The journey with the Lord will bless them with a pure heart and the pure heart, will bless them with a closer walk with God!

Ascension Day - Christian! Hail our ascended King.

ASCENSION DAY?
What Day!?!? some may ask.
Its a glorious celebration of the universal Christian Church, when we remember that Jesus, 40 days after his resurrection, went back to heaven to be received there as the Lord of all and crowned the King of the church!

We believe that Jesus Christ, after crucified for our sins, and after dying and being buried, saw no bodily corruption, but was raised again on the third day. In his risen life, we live anew, and have God’s firm promise that we too will be raised from the dead.
The same Jesus, in the same body in which he rose, went to heaven, where, as our High Priest, he continually intercedes for us. He works for our benefit in a position where he has all the power and authority, ‘at the right hand of God’, because he is Lord over all and he is the Head of the Church.

I PRAY THAT EVERY CHRISTIAN IN THE WHOLE WORLD WILL TODAY ATTEND AN ASCENSION DAY SERVICE TO WORSHIP, PRAISE AND HONOUR CHRIST, OUR KING AND LORD!

I pray that it will be a celebratory service, where music, singing, praise and worship glorify Him who reigns with all the authority of heaven - yet reigns with crucified hands, with mercy, grace and atoning love.

Exalt our King, because we commemorate his glorious enthronement on the throne of our God of grace!

ASCENSION DAY - 13 MAY 2010

"The Anointed Messiah" - The message of the Ascension of Christ according to Psalm 2:1-12

While the OT prophets most of the time saw the first and second coming of Christ as one glorious triumph of the Messiah, we as New Testament Christians know the history of the lowly King, sacrificed for our sins - and we still expect the powerful One who will crush his enemies, to bring about the reign of peace. We know the almighty Christ who now is at the right hand of the Father!

According to the second Psalm, the glitz, glamour, and temporary impressiveness of the world pales into insignificance when compared to the Anointed One of God. In fact, the high and mighty and their scheming do not impress the Lord. He simply scoffs at their foolish pride. What they do not realise is that nations, rulers, powers, authorities, and governments come and go, but the Lord's Anointed One cannot be sidelined or ignored for long.

Ps 2: 1 – 5
1 Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain?
2 The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the LORD and against his Anointed One.
3 "Let us break their chains," they say, "and throw off their fetters." 4 The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them.
5 Then he rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,
6 "I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill."

There are some significant aspects about the Anointed One (meaning: Christ):
He is anointed: This means that he is set apart with ability and authority for a specific purpose and plan: He is the King. Much more than a regular prophet or priest, Jesus is anointed as our glorious, all powerful King.

Ps 2: 7 – 9: I will proclaim the decree of the LORD: He said to me, "You are my Son; today I have become your Father. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. You will rule them with an iron sceptre; you will dash them to pieces like pottery."

Jesus is none other than God's Son: A Son who was given in love to the world so that we might be saved.
He is the heir of all things. He is more than just a good man. He is almighty God personified.
We have to choose our response to him – and it is possible to make the wrong choice.

Pay attention to the following warning:
Ps 2: 10 – 12: Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth.
Serve the LORD with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

So what should we do?
1. The poet reminds us that Jesus will return and when he does, he will establish a kingdom that will endure and he will enjoy a reign that cannot be ignored.

2. We must choose to have genuine and appropriate reverence, respect, and awe for God. He isn't baby Jesus in the manger or a tame prophet that we can manipulate. He is the living, awesome, and amazing Messiah, at the right hand of God, in a position of power and authority.

3. The first ascension to enthronement on earth on Mount Zion is when Jesus was lifted up on the cross. He is not King only by power, but he is essentially king by sacrifice. The second ascension was to the throne of glory in heaven to rule, protect and intercede for his church, until he returns when he will ascend to a place were he will establish his reign for ever, and every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord!

Thank you Lord! We worship you! We acclaim you! We thank you! We stand in awe before you!

Crown Him the Lord of life,
who triumphed o’er the grave,
and rose victorious in the strife
for those He came to save.
His glories now we sing,
who died and rose on high.
Who died eternal life to bring,
and lives that death may die.

Miracles by grace!

Rom 5:10 & 20: For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The solution to fulfil our deepest need for God’s supernatural intervention in our lives, infected with death and its consequences, is only to be found by looking outside of ourselves to a power greater than we are. Unless we have a supernatural life given to us by the intervention of a supernatural God, we will never be free. Instead of freedom, we will experience the reign of death in every aspect of our lives.

This phrase "how much more shall we be saved through Christ’s life" indicates that God’s gift of life is greater and more powerful to save from all our problems and concerns, than the reign of death that causes our bondage as a result of sin.

The gift of God’s life releases us from blame and we who believe in Jesus stand blameless before God. This makes it possible for the gift of supernatural life to release us from every form of bondage. We are told how death reigned. Sin is remorseless. And the reign of death has exempted no one. But we are taught that through the gift of being reconciled with God, we shall reign in life through the power of the risen Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ is more powerful than the reign of death. His gift of life has set us free. Though we still choose to sin, we do not have to make that choice anymore.

More importantly, remember the power of grace. Sin is everywhere. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more. The power of grace is revealed in its abundant supply. All of the sins put together could never exhaust the grace of God.

Just as sin reigned in death, so also grace reigns through God’s life – only with more power. And the purpose of this reign of grace is to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. God's grace is part of his plan and it is God's purpose that grace might reign.

No one can cancel the effect of God's sovereign grace. You may ignore it, but you can not destroy it.
God's grace is sufficient and powerful to deliver us from helpless bondage.
We need so many miracles. Well, the miracle of being brought to life by God is followed by all the miracles we need every day under the demands of death’s attack in every aspect of our lives.
Yes, these miracles do not always come in the ways we envisage!
But it is always there. It happens all the time, through Christ’s supernatural life that saves and reigns in us!

Be grateful for all the miracles the living Lord will do in your life and the lives of your loved ones, this week!

Blessed are the merciful

"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy." (Matthew 5:7).

We live in a world where it's so easy to become indifferent. We are bombarded daily with news of tragedies, violent acts, and suffering people. Instead of developing a thick skin, many develop a hard heart. As a result you find hard, unforgiving, cynical, merciless people everywhere.

Jesus said, "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy." God says in Ephesians 4:32, "Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you."

Picture yourself at a shopping centre watching an elderly woman struggling with her packages. Many are even irritated with her slowness. "Move on, Grandma," could be the response of some. Finally you might see a tender-hearted person stop and take the time to help her. Perhaps the most common place where hard hearts excel is the highway. We think we have a right to be angry at the others on the road.

If we do not show mercy, no mercy will be shown to us. Jesus said, "For if you forgive men for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions." (Matthew 6:14-15) James 2:13 reads, "For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment." When we show no mercy, we are the losers in terms of God's mercy.

Perspective: All people are special in God's eyes. The waitress who serves your dinner, the check-out lady in the supermarket. All are important to God. Think about that the next time you see them. Even the hothead who is shaking his or her fist at you on the road is important to God. So is the person who has offended you, or hurt you, or made you angry. Each one is a special person to God. Each one is as important as I am or you are. We need to pray, "God, let me see them through your eyes." Seeing as God sees can be a giant step toward a merciful, tender-hearted, and forgiving attitude.

Sensitivity: How do you suppose it feels to be handicapped, unable to walk or stand, unable to drive or take care of yourself? How do you suppose it feels to be unemployed, with bills you cannot pay, and children you cannot feed? How would it feel to be widowed, or to lose a child, or a parent? How do you suppose it would feel to have cancer, or Alzheimer's disease, or AIDS?

The point is that we need to climb into someone else's situation and walk a while in their shoes. Once we do, we might find it easier to show some tender-hearted love and genuine forgiveness. Understanding, that is often all people really need.

Response: We must have perspective and sensitivity to be able to respond by doing something about the needs of others - simply loving as Christ loves us. That is what Christ did for us. This is what we should do for others.

Ephesians teaches us to "Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you." Christ’s forgiveness was made possible because of his love. If we would learn to show mercy, it will be because we learn to love as Christ loves.

Just think of what would happen if we were to do this. I believe that the results would be extraordinary. People would be wondering what happened to us. Our spouses and children would be overjoyed. Our church would be filled as people discover that church is a place where they can find love and forgiveness and genuine acceptance.

Remember, as Jesus hung there on the Cross, He said, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing." (Luke 23:34)

We need to be merciful because we need to be like Jesus.

Life threatening debt collectors!

How would you feel if you owed a debt, and the more you paid on it the more you owed? You may say, I already have one – my credit card! That may be true, but there is another debt like that. It is the debt we think we owe to fulfil the desires of our human nature! The more we feed these desires, the more our human nature demands from us!

Paul says we are liberated from this overwhelming debt to our own nature, when we receive Christ’s nature, because it desires God’s will for our lives.

Do you accept the the contrast between living according to your sinful nature, and living according to the new person that the Spirit wants to make us to be?.
Rom 8: 5.
Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.

The contrast is between two kinds of people. The first kind refers to those who are not saved and are still lost slaves trying to fulfil the never ending demands of their sinful nature. The second kind has been saved from this slavery by being born from the Spirit of God. Every Christian receives the Holy Sprit and is controlled by him. There are 2 kinds of people: Unsaved people can never do enough to satisfy a sinful nature and saved people are free to serve God!

There is now also a contrast of their two concerns in life. Unsaved people are mainly concerned about what the world offers. Those who are saved set their minds on the things of God and on the things of the Spirit. One of the evidences that we are born from the Spirit is that our attitudes toward the things of God begin to change. Look at verses 6 and 7: The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so.

People who do not know Christ are unable to set their minds on the things of God.. They are blinded to spiritual truth. But those who born from above have a new nature that understands spiritual truth. God's will becomes the desire of every Christian heart: that God's will would be done in our lives.

So this results in the contrast between two lifestyles. One life style gives everything to meet what sinful nature desires. The other seeks obedience to the Spirit, that lead to actions according to the image of Christ. .

So, finally, there are the two contrasting conclusions: Rom 8: 6, The mind of sinful man is death … but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace.

We simply have to see that there is a radical contrast between being a Christian and not being one. And that the results of forever giving in to the life threatening demands of the debt collector called “our sinful nature” are death and hostility toward God.

But the results of living according to the demands of the Holy Spirit, are life and peace.

Perseverance, character and hope...

Rom 5: 3 – 5: We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

Let's look briefly at the purposes God has with suffering as outlined in this verse. We see here some of the benefits suffering produces in us. The first is perseverance. It means that we have the ability to endure. And what is the benefit of perseverance? It is this: It makes us steady under fire. And I don't know about you, but I want to have that kind of person around me when I am going through spiritual battles.

The second benefit is character. This is something that comes from our experience of going through the fire. When we have withstood the tests of faith and responded well, we become qualified, because character qualifies us as a person of worth.
Think about the kind of people who have made a difference in your life. They are people of substance and depth. They experienced life and learned from it. They have something to say, because they have gone through the valley. They have gone through the fire. They are the people who make a difference.

A third benefit is hope. Because we believe in God, we can have hope for the future. We know that God is at work. We know that God is doing something, even when we do not understand what that is. Hope is the decision to trust in the gracious, loving sovereignty of God. And we need hope. It make us confident that God is doing something eternal in us.

And why should we trust God when we go through times of suffering?
Because we know that he loves us!
Rom 5 : 6 – 8: At just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for God

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied." Matt 5:6

One the problems we face is that we have been willing to settle for so little in God’s service. We have lost our passion. There is no longer a powerful desire for excellence when we do the work of God.

We are willing to settle for less in our spiritual lives than what God desires for us. Perhaps it is because we live without persecution in a country where we enjoy religious freedom. This freedom often causes people to take for granted things which should be held as a precious privilege and blessing. This can cause people to take their Christian commitment lightly, one in which we serve only at our convenience.

Things do not satisfy, only God satisfies. Jesus said: "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied." Perhaps the reason we are not satisfied, is because we have lost our passion, our hunger, our thirst, for God.

When Jesus used the words hunger and thirst, he was comparing our deepest need for being justified by God with real hunger and thirst. The kind of hunger Jesus spoke about could not be satisfied by a light snack. The kind of thirst he spoke about could not be quenched by a brief sip from a water bottle. He was speaking of people who are in desperate spiritual need, such as those who are suffering from famine.

Jesus said that until we come to the point where we acknowledge such a need for God, we will not be satisfied. Is reconciling with God your deepest desire? Are you starving and thirsting for a renewed relationship with God? Nothing but God will satisfy that hunger.

Coming to the end of our own aptitude and ability brings us to a place of spiritual desperation. After we have exhausted all other possibilities, we turn to God as the only comfort in life and death.

There are those who do not hunger for God, because they hardened their hearts against him, allowing sin to control them. A hardened heart will keep you from receiving God and therefore also from reconciliation with him.

One may lose your passion for God. It is possible to work hard for Christ, fight against evil, and even suffer for Christ, without loving God passionately. And without seeking satisfaction in looking for God’s righteousness in one’s life and his salvation for the world.

Pray for passion for God. Pray that he will fuel the zeal that comes from godly love that will cause us to be hungry and thirsty for his righteousness.
Pray that God will create in us such a heartfelt desire for him, that we will not be satisfied with anything less, than with God himself.

Sin cannot control you

Rom 8: 3c- 4: And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.

Sin cannot control us. Although we struggle with sin, we have the victory, because we are in Christ, and also because God is at work in us. It is not only because Jesus carried the punishment for our sins on the cross that we are able to live in freedom. God is now at work in us. Sin cannot control us because God is at work in us in order to change us.

What God wants to give us now is clearly stated in Romans 8:29, “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son.” Part of God's work in us is to change us to Christ's likeness. God desires for us to be more and more like Christ, and that we would live our lives more and more like Jesus lived his. That is what it means to live not according to our sinful nature, but according to the Spirit.

Living according to Spirit means that we live our lives in complete dependence upon the leadership of God. We see this clearly in the life of Jesus.

In John's gospel, we hear Jesus continually teaching that he lived by dependence on the Father's guidance and his power. John 5:19, “Jesus therefore answered and was saying to them, `Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of himself, unless it is something he sees the Father doing: for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.'” Jesus lived by his dependence on God's leadership in his life. And so must we.

We cannot by the law work our way to acceptance by God. We will always fail if we try. The law is performance based. It encourages us to work harder, depending on ourselves. But living in Christ is exactly the opposite of trying to please God through the law. Living in Christ means that everything I do comes from God, and not from me.

Jesus frees us from the obligation to try to be perfect by depending on our own strength. Jesus sets me free to live by the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

To live according to the Sprit means that we consult with God about our choices, values and concerns. Living according to the Holy Spirit means that we give up trying to do it on our own because we rely on the Holy Spirit to guide us. The Spirit liberates from self reliance. The Spirit makes God our highest priority as we receive the gift of loving God so much that we concentrate on pleasing him. Not by keeping the details of a law, but by belonging to him and living in a renewed relationship with him.

By Christ's death on the Cross, he has freed us to only belong to our faithful Saviour.

Called to be Saints!

Do you know God's wonderful purpose for your life?
If we can understand what God's purpose for us is, then that purpose can be accomplished in our lives. We will walk from a different perspective, seeing our lives in the light of God's purposes, and consequently we will be able to live a life that matters.

The primary purpose for the Gospel is found in the first phrase in Rom 1: 5. When Paul says that he received his mission as an apostle “through Christ and for his Name's sake”, he is revealing the central place that God holds in God’s purpose for us. It all begins and ends with God. It is all by his grace and for his glory. We are to live to exalt our Saviour.

But three secondary purposes of the Gospel are also mentioned in Rom 1: 5 - 7.
A secondary purpose is to effect our salvation. Paul tells us that he received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith. (Rom 1:5)
The obedience that comes from faith concerns the foundation of our walk with God. The call of God is a call to obey. Paul makes it clear that for faith to be considered real and viable, it must be revealed in obedience - it must be made visible.

A second secondary purpose of the Gospel is to enhance our significance in the work of Christ. You see, like the Roman Christians, we are loved by God. This is what gives us our true significance. (Rom 1:7)
God loves you. He has accepted you. There is nothing you can do for God to love you more. God doesn't change you so that he can love you; He loves you in order to change you. It is his love that changes you. Surrender to that love. In Christ you are significant, because God loves you.

The final secondary purpose of the Gospel mentioned here is to establish our sainthood. Paul declares that all in Rome, indeed all Christians, are called to be saints. (Rom 1: 7)

“Saint” is a good biblical term applied to all believers. It comes from a Greek word which literally means "holy." To be a saint, in the New Testament sense of the word, is to be a "holy one." To be "holy" in the biblical sense of the term, is simply to be saved in Christ and to belong to God.

This is who we really are. It has been said that some people can't get saved because they will not accept their “sinnership”, and that some Christians can't walk in victory because they will not accept their sainthood. And it is true. Unless we know our true position in Christ, we will never begin to live from that perspective. We are saints because of our position in and through Christ. We are not saints because we achieved perfection, but because we are made holy, meaning we are set apart for God, by his grace and mercy. This is what you must begin to see by faith: You are a saint.
Do you see the purpose of the Gospel? Do you see how that purpose impacts your life?

Therefore, exalt your Saviour, effect your Salvation, enhance your Significance and establish your Sainthood!

Blessed are the poor in spirit!

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:3)
To be poor in spirit means that we see our total spiritual poverty before God and our utter dependence upon Him.
Humility!
Poverty of spirit must be our attitude toward ourselves. We must see that we can do nothing to commend ourselves to God. It must become clear to us that apart from Christ we are spiritually destitute. We may be well educated, but we are spiritually ignorant. We may be financially secure, and still be spiritually bankrupt. We may be the president of a corporation, but without Christ we are spiritually unemployed!

To be poor in spirit is to recognize that without Christ we can not do anything. It is to recognize that without Christ we are nothing. It is to come before God with empty hands, humble in heart, seeking only to receive from Him. This kind of person is described in Isaiah 66:2: "To this one I will look, to him who is humble and contrite (broken) of spirit, and who trembles at my word."

Our Inheritance: Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." The attitude of poverty of spirit brings us to the place where we can receive the kingdom from the king.
Without being poor in spirit a person cannot even come to Christ. This is the first step. Indeed, it is a prerequisite. This is probably why Jesus begins his sermon on the mount with this statement.

But look at the amazing blessing we receive. The kingdom of heaven. What an inheritance!
To those who are poor in spirit God will give the kingdom of heaven. "Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom." - Luke 12:32

Sin Cannot Condemn You

For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man. (Romans 8:3)

Sin cannot condemn us. There is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, because Christ condemned the sin, not the sinner. By Christ's work on the cross, he judged sin. He paid the penalty for sin. He released us from the condemnation of sin, by his death. Jesus did what we could not do. It says here, “For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did.”

The Law was designed to draw us into a place of righteous living before God. The Law was not weak, our human nature was weak. The Law was powerless only insofar as we could not keep the Law. The Law as a standard of good, upright living, was a failure because we failed to keep the Law.

Jesus came as a man to be victorious over sin. He was sinless. Yet the sinless life of Christ was not enough to set us free. He had to go to the cross so that we could enter into his life. Without the sacrificial death of Christ on the cross, sin would not be condemned, we would be condemned. But Jesus was judged instead of us. Because he was judged for our sins, we now are free.

This is wonderful, great news! Not only did Jesus bear every sin we have ever committed, but Jesus bore every sin we shall ever commit. When Jesus died on the cross, the sins of humanity were judged there. All sins, past, present, and future, have been judged. The penalty has been paid. And we enter into freedom as we begin to understand it and walk in it by the Spirit.

God tells us that we need to get right with him, but he does not condemn us. When you sin and go to God, there is no condemnation, no rejection. When we humbly come to Christ, confessing our sin and willing to change our ways, he forgives and cleanses us from all sin. God does not get angry with us when we fall anymore. We are still learning. None of us has arrived. God loves us. There is no rejection, because God's love is not based on our performance.

The biggest mistake I can make is to say to God, `Lord, if I change, will you love me?' The Lord's reply is always, `You have it all wrong. You don't have to change so that I will love you; I love you so that you will change.' God loves me so much that he changes me into the child that he wants me to be.
Remember, sin cannot condemn you anymore. Jesus has set you free from condemnation!

God's hope brings gladness

We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. (Romans 5:2b)
One benefit of knowing Christ is that it gives us hope. Without hope, living turns into despair. The way we receive hope is by getting to know Jesus Christ personally, having a living relationship with him. This is how we also come to know who he really is. And we come to know God’s nature and character. We discover that God is faithful. We discover that God loves us. By looking at the great sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, we understand more of the depth of God's love for us. We also come to understand that God has a plan for the future for us.

This knowledge gives us hope. It brings a certainty that my future is secure in Christ. Whatever happens, nothing can change my God given destiny.

Hope then brings back gladness into my life. This is why Paul could say in Rom 5:2 that we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Joy and rejoicing in God are simply part of our faith. Psalm 16 says, "You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand."

God's salvation brings peace. God's grace brings acceptance. God's hope brings gladness.

Be quick to hear when Jesus speaks to you!

And when He saw the multitudes, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. And opening His mouth He began to teach them. (Matthew 5:1-2)

It could have been a day much like today when the greatest teacher who ever lived, preached the best sermon ever preached. The teacher is the Lord Jesus, and the sermon is called the "Sermon on the Mount".

On that day he saw a huge crowd who needed to hear a fresh, new word from God. They, like many people today, were thirsty for a Word to quench their spiritual thirst, meeting their deepest needs. Tired of meaningless words of people, and the irrelevant, traditionalist long-winded rambling of the teachers of the law of their day, they craved a life changing message they could apply to their lives. Listening to Jesus preaching, it would be exactly what they get.

The words of Jesus is wiser and has more power than anything else we ever heard. Still we see that many who hear remains unmoved by his gracious and loving words. Unless the ground of my spirit is prepared by faith, the seed of the Gospel of Jesus will never break through that ground, will never take root and will never bear fruit.

What can we do to make sure that we hear his voice and receive the comfort and the new life of the most powerful Word ever spoken to the human race?
James (1:19-25) is helpful in this regard when he says:
Let every one be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.
and: In humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls. (James 1:21b)

You do not belong to sin!

Rom 8: 1 – 2: There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.

Although there are some who do not give much attention to sin, those who love and follow Jesus are always aware that it remains a struggle to be obedient to Christ. For some this struggle is so disappointing that they become frustrated and it takes the joy from their walk with the Lord.

For everyone who is aware of this challenge, the comforting message is: You do not belong to sin. The Bible teaches that, because we are sinners, we deserve judgment. But the Bible also teaches that, those who come to Christ, are forgiven. We are now free. We may be sinners, but we do not belong to sin! For us, there is no condemnation.

Living this freedom always remains a challenge. The resistance against sin itself often makes us to feel bound and enslaved. The fight against the old nature often causes us to feel condemned.

The word for condemnation in Rom 8: 1 does not only refer to judgment. It can also refer to a piece of land on which there is a “land-claim” by some other than the current owner. Our struggle against sin may cause us to feel that although we confess to only belong to Jesus, sin still has a claim on our lives. Sin is struggling to reclaim ownership of our lives.

It is exactly against that feeling that Romans 8 speaks and teaches. Paul says that we do not belong to sin, because Christ has set us free. The law that gives power to sin no longer has any jurisdiction over us. We belong to Jesus and not to a law. We belong to Jesus and not to evil or the evil works of darkness. If I belong to Jesus, I am free from the claims of darkness in my life.

I have been united with Christ. Because I belong to him, God sees me as someone who belongs to Christ and not as a slave of either sin or the law. God says, if you belong to my Son, my Son has set you free – he carried your punishment and he claims ownership of your life. God says, if you belong to my Son, I claim you for myself! This is why we are God’s sons and daughters, with all the privileges associated with being God’s children. We know Jesus as Saviour and God as Father. We know that we do not belong to sin. We take John 1:12 seriously: “But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in his name.”

Christ has set me free. This is the truth of God’s Word. What we really still need is a new self-image based on the truth of God's Word, and not one based on what we feel. It does not matter what I feel, and how helpless I sometimes feel because of my old nature that will taunt me till the day I die.
My self image is based on what God said about me, and not by what I feel about me.

And God says I do not belong to sin. I do not belong to evil. I do not belong to the law. I belong to my faithful Saviour, Jesus Christ. I am free, because Christ has set me free and he only may claim ownership of me!

May we remain joyful and glad in the certain knowledge that we belong to Christ.

Believers expect to be raised from the dead!

Christ the First Fruits.
Christ's resurrection was not a return to this life and this flesh and this body that we own at the moment. Christ's resurrection was a raising to eternal life. Christ's resurrection exempts him from ever facing death again. Remember what Christ Jesus said in the Revelation:
(Rev 1:18) I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever!

1Cor 15:20: “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.” Christ "has indeed been raised." God raised Jesus from the dead, by his power, according to his plan and will.

And Christ is the first fruits. Remember the meaning of “first fruits” in Israel? They were a promise to Israel of more to come: More barley, more milk, more grapes, more lambs, more children, more grand children, more blessings, more joy!
Christ as the first fruits is God's promise to us of more to come. More resurrections. More life. More joy. More satisfaction. More assurance of faith. More fullness in God’s eternal Kingdom.

There is a connection between Christ's resurrection and the believer's resurrection. The future destiny of Christians is bound up with what has happened to Christ. Because Christ has been raised, the believer expects to be raised.

Because of Christ's resurrection, we know that some day the great divine alarm clock will sound – the trumpets will blow – and we will be shaken awake to live forever.
Yes, death is still a reality. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory, even over death, through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Cor 15:57).
And the victorious life begins now!

Where is Jesus now?

Where is Jesus now? With the church of all ages, with those who profess their faith Sunday after Sunday, we say "He has risen indeed!" He is not in the grave.

Where is Jesus? The disciples and the women initially thought that Jesus would remain in the grave. He suffered, he was rejected and he died, he was buried. End of story. Isn't this the belief of liberals and unbelievers today? Don't they believe Jesus never rose from the grave?

And this is not the only wrong belief about where Jesus is. One cannot help but notice that in certain traditions Jesus is still depicted as being on the cross. For them he is still being sacrificed every single day. He is still shedding his blood every single day. He is still suffering and dying every single day.

But look, the cross is empty! And, his tomb is empty!

Where is Jesus? On the cross? In the grave? NO! He is off the cross. He is out of the grave. He has risen indeed! He is alive!
He is at the right of the Father in heaven!
And he is with us, always, till the end of time.
To him has been given all authority in heaven and on earth.

This is our profession to the world.
And this is our confession as the people of God.

Easter - What if its true?

What if Jesus rose from the tomb?

On a Sunday near Easter, a Sunday School teacher gave an empty plastic egg to each of the kids. She then sent them outside to find any sign of life and put it inside the egg. When they returned, one had a butterfly, another an ant and others had flowers and leaves. But one egg had nothing in it. It belonged to a boy who more often than once could not manage his assignments. Some of the kids laughed at him. But when the teacher asked him why he had not put any signs of life in his egg, he simply said, "Because the tomb was empty." This boy understood the Gospel: Easter is more than a celebration of natural life.

Easter celebrates an empty tomb. Easter celebrates that nobody, that no force or any power, could keep Jesus in the tomb.

The Bible in simple, almost childlike clarity, teaches us that Jesus died and rose. Every early Christian preacher made this the main theme of his message. And for all the centuries that followed, it remained the very core of the Good News preached about Jesus. On this truth all Christian faith and service are founded.

The Son of God could not be hold by a sealed closed grave. Nothing could secure the tomb in such a way that it could keep the Messiah, the Christ of God, locked inside. No guards, no stone, and no fancy, clever theology, and no lie or deception can keep Jesus locked inside the tomb.

In a cemetery in Hanover, Germany, is a grave on which were placed huge slabs of granite and marble cemented together and fastened with heavy steel clasps. It belongs to a woman who did not believe in the resurrection of the dead. Yet she directed in her will that her grave be made so secure that if there were a resurrection, it could not reach her. On the tomb stone were inscribed these words: "This burial place must never be opened." In time, an acorn seed, covered over by the slabs, began to grow. It pushed its way through the soil and outside from beneath the slabs. As the trunk grew larger over the years, the slabs were shifted and they forced the steel clasps from their sockets. A tiny seed had become a tree, and the tree pushed aside the heavy slabs.

The life force contained in a little seed is but a small reflection of God’s power revealed, seen at Easter. No more could the slabs keep the acorn within the grave than could the guards, authorities and lies keep Christ within the tomb.

When Jesus was laid in the tomb on the first Good Friday afternoon, hope had died even in the hearts of Jesus' most loyal friends. It looked as if his enemies had won a victory. The disciples thought the Master was defeated. But the testimony of many that had fellowship with him before his ascension, even 500 people at the same time, says, Christ defeated the enemy!

The chief priests and Pharisees went to Pilate to get a security order.
(Mt 27:63-64) "Sir," they said, "we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, 'After three days I will rise again.' So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead.

To their credit we can say that they accurately quoted what Jesus said. Jesus did predict his own resurrection. He said to his followers:
(Mt 20:18-19) "We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!" (Mt 16:21-23; 17:22-23)

The chief priests and Pharisees were secretly afraid.
Not of a grave robbery, but of the great “what if?” What if Jesus did arise?
What if the lifeless body started to breathe again? What if the wrapped-up, bandaged body stood up and came to them?

What if Jesus was telling the truth?

Easter Sunday - He has risen indeed!

On Friday you would not have known that he was the Son of God. You would have seen and witnessed a gruesome and unreasonable death on Golgotha.

But Easter Sunday was completely different. On Easter Sunday we see the heavenly transformation of the Messiah. The body that was so grossly humiliated, was now raised and exalted and received eternal qualities!

It was not only Jesus who was changed or transformed by his resurrection. His followers were too. Their sorrow was turned into Easter joy! Despair was turned into hope! Unbelief was changed into faith.

Jesus is alive, because his work in us has not been completed:
Jesus has not finished his work when it comes to Mary. He meets her in the garden. He talks to her.
Do you see the change in Mary? She was crying. She was sad. She was upset. But now she was filled with great and exciting and joyful news!
Jesus still has to restore the joy of his people.

Jesus has not finished his work yet. He appears before the disciples and they are "overjoyed" (Jn 20:20).
He sends them on a mission to tell others about the Good News that he is alive. (Jn 20:21). Jesus fills them with the Holy Spirit (Jn 20:22) and gives them the authority to declare the forgiveness of sins (Jn 20:23).

Jesus has still not finished. He knows there are doubters and sceptics. He appears before one by the name of Thomas. Thomas sees Jesus and he believes (Jn 20:28). "My Lord and my God!" he says to Jesus (Jn 20:28). Thomas acknowledges that Jesus is the One he worships. Doubting Thomas receives assurance of faith.

Jesus has not finished his work. He speaks to Peter about his denial. He forgives him. He commissions him to pastor his flock. He takes away his fear and gives him the back bone he needs to do Gods work.

Jesus has not finished his work. He is thinking of you and me and those who profess their faith in church. Unlike John and Peter and Mary and Thomas and the other disciples, we do not see Jesus' hands and his side. But by his Word and Spirit Jesus works faith in us. Jesus talks about us when he says, "blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed" (Jn 20:29).

Jesus has not finished his work. Faith is not the end. Profession of Faith is not the end either.
Jesus wants to work in you and me.
He wants to remake us in his image. He wants to get rid of sin in our lives. He wants to get rid of cowardice, and laziness and slackness in his work and in his kingdom.

Jesus has not finished his work. Jesus wants us to be filled to overflowing with the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal 5:22).

Jesus has not finished his work. Jesus wants us to present all that we have and all that we are to him as a living sacrifice of thanks and praise. He wants us to withhold nothing.
He wants our heart's desire to be his praise and honour and glory.
Jesus has not finished his work. Jesus wants the entire world to know about him.
Jesus wants every square inch of this universe to know he claims it.
He wants to gather his sheep from the four corners of the earth – from every tribe and language and people and nation. He wants to do this through you and me and everyone else who believes.

Jesus wants to prune out the dead parts on the tree of his church, because someday he wants his church to be complete and perfect.

Jesus has not finished his work in and through us. There is still more for him to do. Someday Jesus shall return to resurrect my body and to judge the living and the dead. Someday Jesus shall make a new heaven and a new earth.
Jesus blesses me with his resurrection power! And has not finished doing just that!

Holy Week - Still Saturday

On the Sabbath day God rested.


Yes, when this heart and flesh shall fail,
and mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess within the veil
a life of joy and peace.

Holy Week - Good Friday

(Luke 23:44-46) The Seventh Word from the cross was: "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.".

When Jesus was a child, every Hebrew child was taught to pray, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." Mary certainly taught Jesus this prayer when he was still a toddler. Now the Son of God, climaxing his ministry on the cross, prays these words again. Jesus greets this phase of his life in the words of a prayer he learned from his mother: "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit."

When Jesus passed on, he did not speak some great, philosophical wisdom. When he left this world to enter Paradise, Jesus spoke a childhood prayer. The shadows have lengthened and the end has come, Jesus died. The Son is going home. "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit."

Jesus was in the hands of sinful men. But now he would go to his Father. The Father who had forsaken him, forsook him no longer. The Father who punished him for our sins, finished punishing him. He does not die the death of a criminal. He went to hell for our sake, but his redemption work was finished. His Father condemned him no longer. In the end, the Father was there, and into his hands Jesus could commit his spirit. Learn of Jesus how to die; how to go to Paradise. By committing your spirit to the Father.

The most precious possession you have, is your eternal spirit. And, that spirit is secure only when it is in the hands of God.

On this Good Friday, I have to ask: Have you followed the example of Jesus? Have you committed your spirit into the Fathers hand.
On this Good Friday, for Christ sake, commit yourself into the Father’s hands - for this life, and for ever.

Holy Week - Maundy Thursday

Today is Maundy Thursday, the Thursday before Good Friday.
I pray that it will be a day of unique and special blessings to be remembered for a long time.
It was on this Thursday night that Jesus instituted the holy Supper, washed the feet of his disciples, experienced the torment of Gethsemane and was arrested and tried by the Jewish religious leaders. It was during this night that Jesus was betrayed by Judas and denied by Peter.

Tonight we observe the ceremonial memorial of the suffering of Christ by the gradual extinguishing of candles, Scripture readings, contemplating the meaning of the Passion of Christ and in remembrance of him, sharing in holy Communion.

Today we experience the emotions associated with the passion of our Lord. It is not to be a happy day, because the occasion remembered is a solemn one in which we are in mourning because our sins caused the Son of Man anguish and agony.

For many believers who first attend the Tenebrae service observed today, it may be upsetting. The solemnity and sadness, the pain of the Saviour, do not make for an enjoyable evening in church. But one that deepens our understanding of his love, as we become aware of what he and the disciples felt that night. Go to church, in order to leave with more gratefulness and more love in your heart.

Go to church tonight. Not to have a "good time", but to be have your mind changed about Christ Jesus. Go with the expectation to adore the Lord more and serve him with deeper devotion, after the Tenebrae experience.

Our Maundy Thursday worship will only be completed on Easter Sunday, when our blessing and joy come from the glorious, victorious resurrection of Christ.