Most Christians would consider themselves to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. All Christians within them have the ability to be a disciple, most are just converts. Discipleship is something that is a choice. Becoming a disciple of Jesus is something that you choose to do. By definition, a disciple is a pupil to be instructed, to enroll as a pupil; another definition said to enroll as a scholar.
Anyone who declares Jesus as their Savior is a convert. That’s great because they are on their way to heaven. In comparison, and technically speaking, anyone who declares Jesus, not only as their Savior, but also as their LORD is a disciple or a follower. However, a true disciple will endeavor to become everything that their master has called them to be. Matthew 10:25a says, “It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord…” The word AS here means the same amount or degree; equal to or as an exact duplicate. Let me give you some more definitions: A disciple has been shown to be someone who follows the teachings, life, and actions of another until the person becomes like the master. Discipleship, in the Christian sense, is the PROCESS of making someone become like Christ. The disciple is to become like Christ in EVERYTHING! A disciple is someone who follows Jesus, is being changed by Jesus and is committed to the mission of Jesus. Matthew 4:19 says, “And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. Another definition is entering into a relationship to help people trust and follow Jesus, which includes the whole process from conversion through maturation to multiplication. Staying in Matthew, chapter 28:19-20 says, 19) “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20) Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” Let’s also look at Luke 6:40. “The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master.” The word “perfect” here means to fit one’s self or to prepare one’s self. A disciple is one who has prepared himself by being a student of Jesus in His nature, character, and ministry. You do this by settling under the five-fold ministry mentioned in Ephesians 4:11-12 which says, 11) “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 12) For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:” So, you need to get with God so you can be placed in a church that makes use of those ministers gifted in the five-fold to help you grow as a disciple, but then you need to step out in faith and do what Jesus told us to do in John 14:12, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.” Let me remind you about that word verily. When you see that word verily in scripture, you need to stop everything you are doing and pay attention because a powerful truth is about to be shared and entrusted with you. Go back and study the scripture above. Look at what Jesus is saying after that word verily. You don’t want to just read over that and dismiss it, amen? Lastly, to reiterate that a disciple is one who studies to become just like Jesus, let’s look at 1 John 4:17 which says, “Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.” For any questions on this or other articles I’ve submitted, please contact me on the web at www.themoveablechurch.org/contact-us and I will get back to you. Hope everyone enjoyed Christmas and is looking forward, with hope, to a powerful new year in Jesus. Doc
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Some time back I wrote to you about hindrances to your healing. Today, the Lord is telling me to write, so I thought I’d write about hindrances to your faith. I recently taught this to my discipleship class at Victory Family Church in Perryton, Texas.
We basically talked about things that that hinder our faith. Ignorance of the Word of God and not hearing the Word be preached are big hindrances to developing a faith life. Another thing is you telling your problems to God instead of telling your problems about how big your God is (Matt 17: 20) and that’s another teaching all together. Probably the biggest problem is trying to believe while also having unbelief in you. Faith and unbelief are opposing forces. You need to know that it doesn’t take great faith to get what you are believing for. It only takes a mustard seed sized faith to do mighty things. Most Christians are more full of unbelief than they are faith. Actually, as a born again Christians, we have all the faith we need. Roman 12: 3 reads, “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he out to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.” This says that we have THE measure of faith. Notice it doesn’t say “A” measure of faith. Galatians 2: 16 reads, “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.” This might be surprising to you, but the measure we received from our Father God is THE SAME MEASURE that Jesus had! The faith movement of the 70’s - 90’s taught us to grow our faith, but my thought on this is that you can’t grow His faith, but you can grow INTO what has already been put in you by God. As a born again Christian, you already have all the faith you need, you just need to use what you have. Another scripture that shows this is Galatians 3:22, “But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.” We receive salvation by faith in Jesus, but once you are saved we get a special gift (grace). THE FAITH OF Jesus. This is the reason that Jesus said with such assurity that the works He did we Would Do. We have the same equipment that Jesus had. We have the same gifts, the same Holy Spirit, the same power and the same FAITH that he had. The church of today is basically powerless, for they have no idea of who they are, what they have, and what they can do because of what Jesus did for them. In most Christians, the faith of Jesus goes unused and idle because of ignorance. Please don’t get offended. Ignorance means they just DON’T KNOW. Our pulpits have put out more doubt and unbelief than Good News! More Christians believe they are unworthy, black-hearted worms than believe they are the Holy, Righteous, Powerful sons and daughters of the Most High God. Jesus took care of the sin problem, the unrighteous problem, and the powerless problem. The large amount of doubt and unbelief in most believers is what has overwhelmed the faith that was placed in us the instance we were born again. Folks, we need to search the scriptures for what God has already done. Remember it is a finished work. Separate yourself from the doubt preachers to destroy doubt in your life. Begin to utilize the faith that is already there. Grow INTO the faith that is yours and become Doers of the Word (James 1:22) As you do this, you’ll begin to take possession of His faith and become life Peter in Acts 3:6, “…such as I have give I thee..” You are full of his faith, his works, his power - now go use it! Doc. Isaiah chapter 60 verse one says, "Arise, shine; for thy light is come." This generation is going to be the most dynamic generation the world and the church has ever seen, amen? And you and I are going to play a big part in these last days. In this article, we’ll talk about the corporate church and your part in it. Too many Christians view themselves as less than what God says they are. They feel unworthy, worthless, having no abilities, and un-useable.
Let's continue. "And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall rise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee." Wait until you find out what the glory is, or what it entails. I can remember when I was a kid the greatest problems they had in school was chewing gum and running up and down the hallways and shooting spit-wads across the class room. Now, they're concerned about AK47's, knives, murder, rape, and all this other stuff. We have a tendency when these things happen, we get distracted, we start worrying, and we take our eyes off of God. We back off of faith and get scared. I'm telling you folks, the bible says it's going to happen. We’re already seeing things fall in to place here and abroad. Quit worrying! We cannot be in fear and walk in power. You've got to be in faith and faith cometh by what? Hearing! Those that are reading this and preparing for what's coming, there's going to be great joy in the camp. It says, darkness, which is described as destruction, misery, death, ignorance, sorrow, sickness, wickedness, and it says gross darkness comes upon the people and it means thick, dark, gloom. And it goes on to say but the Lord shall rise upon thee and his glory, hallelujah! Let me tell you. In the midst of darkness, in the midst of wickedness… Come On…in the midst of deep, dark, gloom upon the people, it says don't be worried. Glory is coming upon my people! Now that’s some shouting ground right there. Amen? Amen! In a recent series on God’s grace, I showed you that God’s grace is our ability to be doers of the word, God’s word. We don’t have to be highly educated or some famous person. We do need God’s grace. Acts chapter 3: 6-10 3) Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms. 4) And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us. 5) And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them. 6) Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. 7) And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. 8) And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God. 9) And all the people saw him walking and praising God: 10) And they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him. The Church needs to get to the place that they’re doing the same thing Peter did here, bringing forth signs, wonders and miracles that will bring forth wonder and amazement in the eyes, not only of the world but of the religious establishment. I’m going to tell you something, religion will stifle Christianity. Religion will put a muffler down on true Christianity. The true Christian is not only born again, but the true Christian is born again, filled with the Holy Spirit, filled with power, and going around and doing amazing deeds that will amaze and astound the religious community. It’s time for the church to rise and shine. It’s time I rise to the truth that God has called me to do signs, wonders, and miracles. He’s called you, too. If you’ve been studying any of my articles that I’ve put in this magazine or on my blog, you have found out that because of his grace, even though we’re undeserving, his grace has provided everything we have need of to rise and shine, to be victorious and to be over-comers in this world now. We found out we don’t have to wait to get to heaven to receive the ability of God. Why are we going need it in heaven? I’m not going to need healing in heaven. I’m not going to need deliverance in heaven. Amen. I’m not even going to need finances in heaven. Dear Lord, my parking lot’s going to be paved in gold. It’s what the word says, that the very streets are paved with pure gold. Glory to God! You get a little short you just go out and sweep a little dust off the streets, hallelujah. Now, I guess you’ve waited long enough to find out what the glory is. So here it is. This word glory here, means, Honor, Splendor, it means POWER. It means Wealth, and Riches, Authority, Magnificence, Favor, and Excellency. As the darkness grows, the glory is going to exceed it. And there's going to be those that see the darkness and the glory and think darkness or glory, ooh I think I'll choose the glory. Right now, you can walk in darkness and there's fun for a season. It's coming a time when darkness is not going to be fun anymore. You've got a choice. I'm telling you, those that are in preparation for what's coming the glory is going to hit in a more magnificent and powerful way than for those who wait and do nothing. We've got to attach ourselves to the word, get into the word like never before, study to show ourselves approved. We need to fill ourselves with the word. It's a powerful weapon. It's going to keep you out of darkness and gloom and keep you in the light and glory that’s coming, Amen! And the glory we walk in now is nothing compared to what's coming. He's going to fill his people with glory like never before. Will you be ready? Will you be part of the glory? Jesus is coming back for a victorious church. He’s coming back for those who are doers of His word, not sitting in a church warming the pews. Rise Up! Get into the Word-get into Jesus, claim who you are, begin to confess it daily, and begin to do what God has called you to do. Begin to see yourself the way God see’s you. There will be no excuses, because God has equipped you with His grace. It’s Time to Rise and Shine! Doc With October on us, I want to share a conviction I’ve held for over 40 years and that conviction is that, as Christians, we should not celebrate nor have anything to do with halloween. It all started with a conviction in my heart from the Lord that it was wrong. I started researching the roots of halloween and came to the conclusion that the basis of the celebration was demonic. We need to steer clear of things or events that have roots in evil.
Here’s how. Ancient Druids and Celtic Priests made sacrifices to their Celtic gods which are false gods. Later, the Romans merged their commemoration of the dead and their day of honoring one of their own roman goddesses. Much later, a Catholic priest added a celebration of Roman martyrs and then added All Saints Day also. The thing that really stopped me from any form of acceptance of halloween though was that wiccans use this day as their high worship day of satan. This is a witch’s religious system. Even though you may have considered this a harmless night of fun, the wiccans delight in the fact that ignorant Christians are helping them in their worship. Is this night that is dedicated to mischief, evil, and the devil something that Christians should embrace? Is celebrating a dark and evil holiday something a child of the Light should be doing? Even if you don’t see it that way, is this the testimony you want other people to see? Is this a mixed message you are sending to your non-Christian neighbors and friends? Consider the following Holy Scriptures. Romans 13:12: says, “…let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.” 2nd Corinthians 6:14 says, “…what communion hath light with darkness?” 1 Thessalonians 5: 22 says, “Abstain from ALL APPEARANCE of evil.” emphasis mine. Does halloween, even if it’s an innocent costume, bring glory to Jesus? A night dedicated to mischief, evil, such pervasive and gross darkness, and to the devil is not going to bring any honor to God but rather, instead, it brings more glory and honor to satan-man’s mortal enemy. Participating at all, in any form, in this most evil of all holidays brings upon you a sentence of guilty by association. Is this what you want to associate with when Jesus made it possible for you to associate yourself with Him? To associate yourself with death and fear is to slap Jesus in the face. It makes null and void in your life the life giving power of God unto redemption. My testimony means more to me than to allow this “fun” holiday to tarnish it. We are children of light and we should walk in this light. I want only to glorify and associate myself with a risen Savior-Jesus, and I encourage you to do the same. Doc For 49 years now, I’ve been teaching about how to live a successful life in Christ. My book, ‘Thank God for His Grace- a Success Manual for the Undeserving’, which is in reprint and will be available soon, explains how God’s Grace makes available, to every born again believer filled with the Holy Ghost, the power of God himself and what to do with it.
John 14: 12 says, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.” So, how do we do these greater works? It takes understanding what God did for you and what he gave you and what he expects of you. Most Christians walk around as a second class citizen and as a result they never fulfill their calling in life. This powerful truth must be understood. At the cross an exchange took place. All of the evil, (the sickness, the lack, the poverty, and defeat) that was due to come on us because of sin and rebellion came on Jesus so that all of the good that was due to come on Jesus could come on us. To many believers, the cross was just a means to get to heaven when we die, but his sacrifice provided so much more than a ticket to heaven. Jesus took our punishment and gave us forgiveness. He died a spiritual death and gave us eternal life. He took our sin and gave us his righteousness. He took our rejection and made us to be accepted by our Father God. He took all of the curses that would come on man and gave us blessings. He took our shame so that we could take his glory. He took on wounds that were meant for us and gave us healing. He took our place in poverty and gave us his place in abundance. He took away our old sinful nature and gave us a new spirit that is alive in him. In these last days there is more pressure, there are more attacks coming against you than there has ever been. And it’s going to increase. You say, dear Lord, you didn’t have to tell me that. Yes I did. I needed to tell you that. What’s that old saying about being for-warned is being for-armed. So you are being for-warned today that it’s going to get worse. At the same time, you can walk in more victory than you’ve ever walked in before. And that’s what God expects of you. Just as there have been moves that weakened or removed revelations and truths from the bible, so are there moves to restore these things. Salvation by grace was replaced with salvation by works. Healing was lost. The baptism of the Holy Spirit was lost, gifts were lost, etc. etc. Since the 1500’s God has been in the restoration business. This has been called, by many, different “moves”. We have the protestant moves, the Pentecostal, full gospel moves, etc. Each movement has restored a different aspect of true Christianity that has been lost for generations. I believe we currently are in a transitional phase between moves. Joshua chapter one will give you a glimpse of the passing of one move and the beginning of a new move. The last move can be equated with Moses and the new with Joshua and Caleb. Look back over the years and recall the mighty men and women of God who have died. The likes of which include Kenneth Hagin, Oral Roberts, T. L. and Daisy Osborn, Derek Prince, and Lester Sumrall to name a few. These represent the Moses generation that is passing away. Many prophets, as well as me, believe that the greatest move of all times is in the early stages right now. I believe this early stage will be called the Joshua Generation. This will be a preparatory move to get the mighty army of God fully equipped and activated for the final move which will be called Harvest. And I believe this move will be tri-generational because God’s ways are to use the wisdom of the older generation, the resources of the middle generation, and the zeal and power of the younger generation. You and I are a part of this. It is going to take ALL of us working together to win the last day war with darkness. The greatest harvest the world has ever seen is coming, and it will take every single believer to accomplish this. God gave us grace. He gave us weapons, and he gave us His word so that we can be more than conquerors in these last days. The Lord spoke very clearly to me one day and said, “My children are weak and powerless and unable to function as I have called them to function because they don’t understand My grace.” You see, Grace sees to it that you get what you don’t deserve. I don’t deserve salvation, but grace gives it to me anyway. Mercy sees to it that you don’t get what you do deserve. Grace is manifold, which means it has many different forms. Grace is favor, power, strength, protection, blessings, promises, gifts, enduements, deliverances, and miracles. God gave us all these things so we can be doers of the word. James 1:22 says, “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. We must be about the Father’s business. We must do the works that Jesus did and we can do them greater because we can travel internationally, and we have the internet. God is birthing greater works in you right now. Stay tuned, I’ll share more on this in the coming issues. Doc We’re going to start with Ephesians 2:1 which reads, “And you hath [past tense] he quickened [made alive], who were dead in trespasses and sins; [emphasis mine].
So many people think in the future with the things of God. They keep saying God is going to ‘fill in the blank’. This is not correct. God is not going to do anything. HE HAS ALREADY DONE IT! According to Ephesians 2:1 you are already alive in Him. As a matter of fact, you are as alive in Him as you will ever be. You are as alive as Jesus is right now! Everything God is going to do for you has already been done. Salvation, healing, deliverance, blessings, and prosperity and every promise in the Word has already been deposited in your born again spirit. He is not going to bless you; you are already blessed. He is not going to heal you; it’s already in your spirit. 1 Peter 2:24 says, “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.” Notice the passage is past tense; it’s talking about something that has already happened. Most people will say, “I don’t have any of that in my life.” Am I saved at all? At this point you must realize that you are three parts: spirit, soul, and body. The thing that is born again is your spirit, not the soul or your body (flesh). All of the things I’ve been talking about are IN your spirit. Just because you can’t feel it, see it, hear it, smell it, or taste it doesn’t mean it’s not there. It is in your spirit. You can be born again, and still not have everything that belongs to you in your flesh or your soul. Now, your soul is your mind, will, and emotions. Those three make up our ‘soulish’ realm. The things God has done for us is resident in our spirit. Most Christians live far below the level that belongs to them. As a matter of fact, most Christians live their lives out without ever touching the treasure that is stored in their spirit. As a result, most live their lives sick, depressed, and poor not knowing they have healing, freedom and prosperity resident inside of them. According to Eph 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.” Understand that heavenly places does not mean we wait until we get to heaven. Ephesians 2:6 says, “And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” We’ve already been raised and seated in those heavenly places but we’re not in heaven. This is in our lives, right here, right now. Those spiritual blessings are what is stored in our spirit, a virtual treasure trove in us right now! Now, the question is how do I get them into my life? I’m glad you asked. Number one, you must know what you have according to what the Word says. Study the Word until you KNOW what belongs to you. Philemon 1:6 says, “That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.” emphasis mine. To become effectual means to start to work. You have to KNOW it’s there. Number two. You use your faith to pull them out of your spiritual storehouse and into your natural life. Faith works the same way that you got saved: “believe in your heart and confess with your mouth”, Romans 10: 9-10. When you truly believe that you already have these things in you, then your faith confession begins to pull those things into your natural life. You must see this. When you believed in your heart that Jesus died, rose again, and is now seated at the right hand of the father and you confessed this, it manifested in your life right away. Are you with me? It’s this same process when it comes to the things of God. Now, you might be asking how long you have to confess this. Well, you believe it in your heart and confess it with your mouth until you get what you are believing for. Salvation for our spirit is instant. Other things can take more time. At first it may take a while, but as you do this, things begin to manifest sooner and sooner. You see, you have to grow into the faith that the Father put in you. Ephesians 3: 12 says, “In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.” You must understand that the faith you have is HIS faith. We have been taught that you need to ‘grow’ your faith, but it’s not your faith. It’s HIS faith. Now, you can grow into the faith of Jesus. As you study and hear His Word, you begin to grow into the faith that Jesus provided for you. Romans 12:3 says, “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.” emphasis mine. It has already been given to you; it’s deposited in your spirit. You actually believe God with HIS faith. We have in us the same faith that Jesus had. That’s why we can do the works that He did and the greater works that John 14:12 speaks of. In closing, let me give you an example of how to pray using healing. You can use this same kind of prayer, just replace healing for whatever it is you need from God. If God’s Word says you can have it, then you can have it; you have a right to ask Him for it, to believe in your heart and confess it. Father, I thank you that Jesus is in me and the promise of healing is mine. Jesus took stripes on His back in order for me to be healed. So, by faith, I take what has already been supplied to me and in the name of Jesus, I confess that I AM HEALED! AMEN! In His Service, Doc Sharp In last month’s issue we talked about how believing in your heart and confessing with your mouth that Jesus died on the cross automatically made him your Savior. That doesn’t automatically make him Lord of your life.
Luke 6:46 says, “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? I want him to be my Savior but I want him to be Lord of my life, too. I can’t say I’ve perfected this but I am working on it. The more I work on it the more he becomes Lord. We make him Lord by obeying him. We’ll spend the rest of our lives working on this. Our goal is to make him Lord enough of our lives that he, in turn, makes us Lords. Amen? It says in Revelations 19:16 that Jesus is coming back, now this is in a time of war, but he’s coming back as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The more I make him Lord, the more he’ll see me as a Lord. The blessings of the word are tied in with his Lordship. The more he’s Lord, the more we’re blessed. If we don’t fully make him Lord, we won’t be able to fully operate in his power. In this post I want to give you a few biblical descriptions of a person who has made Jesus Lord. And keep in mind this is a process. And one day we’ll be part of his coronation where he’s crowned Lord of the universe. There’s coming a day when everyone is going to obey him because the word says that every knee shall bow and every tongue will confess that he is Lord. Okay, so we’re going to cover some descriptions. I can’t fit them all into this post. We’ll do as much as we can. 1. Turn to Proverbs 9:8-10. In making Jesus Lord the person becomes a disciple. Another word for this is a learner. As some would say not all students are learners. They will become open and teachable to the truths of God’s word. So begin to develop a hunger and thirst for learning about God. 2. Matthew 6: 24 & 33. The 2nd description of someone making Jesus their Lord is they will put him first. The one making Jesus Lord is quick to obey verse 33. Seek first the kingdom. A kingdom is a King’s domain. Find out where God’s at, find out what God’s doing, find out where God’s reigning, and get in it. You are going to have to get with the world or get with me. 3. Next, let’s look at 1 Corinthians 6:19-20. The person making Jesus Lord has committed to a life of purity and holiness. This person will almost daily recognize the Holy Spirit is in them and will not want to live carelessly. Think about that the next time you want to watch some ‘R’ rated movie because the Holy Ghost is right there with you. It’s important to recognize what Jesus went through. If we’ve made him our Savior, he purchased us by his own blood. We belong to him and that is really good news. Because he suffered for us, that gives him the right to be our Lord. There’s more characteristics of those who choose to make Jesus their Lord but space will not permit me to go over all of them in my notes. Get in the word, ask the Holy Spirit to help you, to bring you wisdom and understanding when it comes to making Jesus your Lord. Lord Bless, Doc Let’s open our bibles to Acts chapter 11. We’ll start with verse 19. 19) “Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only. 20) And some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which, when they were come to Antioch, spake unto the Grecians, preaching the Lord Jesus. 21) And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord. 22) Then tidings of these things came unto the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem: and they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch. 23) Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord. 24) For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith: and much people was added unto the Lord.
This is a people who converted to Jesus, they turned to Jesus as their Lord. An apostle was sent to them to help them live according to what Jesus said. You’ve got to understand there’s more to it than just calling Jesus a Savior. Most Christians get there ticket punched to get into heaven and they tend to stop right there. Many have taken the word Lord to mean Savior. When you get born again, Jesus has become your Savior, but there’s more to it. We’ve said it before that if that’s all there is to being born again and get baptized, then we’d just send you on home to be with Jesus. We’d just hold you under water a little longer and go here’s another one God. Wouldn’t be a whole lot of them that would want that, would they? God wants us to take our salvation experience and move on to the point where we make Jesus Lord of our lives. We want Jesus to be more than just our Savior. Some say they just don’t see the benefits of serving the Lord. Well if you don’t make Jesus the Lord of your life, the benefits won’t be there. He’s got to be Lord of your life. This happens when you give Jesus complete and total control of your life. We’ve got to get to the place where He’s in charge, not me. Amen? Look at Luke 6:46 “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” In other words, you don’t have any right to call me Lord if you are not obeying me. If you are not doing what I said there’s no need to call me Lord. Now, you can say Jesus is my Savior, but you can’t call him Lord if you’re not in obedience to his word. Verse 47 says, Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will show you to whom he is like: 48) He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. 49) But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation build an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great. We’ve heard for a long time that the rock spoken of here is Jesus. But that’s not really what it’s talking about here. There were two men and they heard the same message. They both heard the teachings of Jesus. It says one of them heard it and did it. It was like building his house upon a rock. The other one heard the same teachings of Jesus but didn’t build his house on a rock. One rendition says he built his house on sand. Notice the storm beat on both of their houses. Any of you had any storms recently? In your homes, your lives, your finances, your ministry? The storms will come. But our protection that comes that keeps our lives from folding is hearing and doing the word. It says if you are hearing it and doing it you can call me Lord. Amen? That doesn’t mean you are not saved. You’ve already made him Savior. As a matter of fact, you can’t make Jesus your Lord until you’ve made him your Savior. But there are many who have made him their Savior and he’s never become Lord. Our goal in this life is to make him Lord of our lives. And when we begin to hear the word and be obedient to the word we are laying a foundation that we can stand on when the storms of life come. As soon as you became born again, Jesus became your Savior. From that point on you have to make Jesus your Lord. The Lordship of Jesus is not automatic in your life. He’s not going to just come in and take over and rule your life without you making him Lord. And you make him Lord by hearing and obeying the word. I’ve known some people who have made Jesus Lord in some areas but not in others. They may have prayed and given their families to the Lord but haven’t given their billfold to the Lord. Started meddling didn’t I? If Jesus is not Lord of your billfold, he can’t bless it. There’s some that have made him Lord of their billfold but won’t make him Lord of their health. They don’t do what the bible says in Matthew 6:33. It says seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. What do we do, we usually go to the doctor first and if that doesn’t do us any good then we seek the kingdom. Is that seeking it first? No. Now, stick with me on this because I have more to share with you about how to make Jesus Lord of your life. Until then, Doc In previous issue, we gave you an explanation of love. To recap, Agape love is used of God to express the deep and constant love of a perfect being to entirely unworthy objects. The idea here is to realize that God’s perfect love has been poured out to us - the undeserving objects.
We see this with God’s Mercy and Grace. If you deserved his Grace, it would cease being Grace. By the same token, we don’t deserve his love, but Praise God, we get it anyway. As a matter of fact, the more undeserving you are the greater candidate you are for the love of God. If you are undeserving of the love of God, you are the target. You are the reason Jesus left heaven. At one time, every one of us was lost. God sent Jesus for the lost. Jesus left heaven for you. He went to the cross for you. That is the love of God manifest. Now, Agape love also produces this love back to the Father and also produces a practical love of those who are also partakers of that love. There are three times in the bible that we’re told to love God. We are told to love our enemies three times also. We are told to love our neighbor, which, sometimes can be harder, four times. The hardest one of all is to love our brethren and we’re told this 20 times in the word of God. If you are born again, you have this same kind of love in you. It’s in there, you may need to develop it, but it’s in there. Now what I want to talk to you about is being a mature believer in the love of God. God’s goal for us here in the earth is to bring us to total maturity, Amen? How many of you understand that we are to grow up in Jesus? That basically means to become like him, act like him, talk like him, walk like him, and minister like him. That’s God’s goal for you. Once you’ve been saved, and baptized in the Holy Ghost, his goal is to bring you from a new born babe in Christ into a full blown son of the Most High God, just like your elder brother, Jesus. Our goal should be just like God’s goal and that is for you to mature. We tend to look at maturity from a different angle that God does. We look at people to see how much scripture they have memorized, or we look and see how much they pray. And here’s the deceptive one, we look to see how gifted they are, whether they could prophecy or not, whether all kinds of gifts are flowing through them. We’ll look to see how charismatic they are, how wonderful they are, how powerful they are and think that’s mature. Now some of you may be going, huh? That’s not mature? No, that’s not mature. That’s not what maturity looks like. I’m going to tell you the gifts have nothing to do with maturity. A brand new, born again believer can prophecy, and by no stretch of the imagination are they mature in Jesus. Amen? Now, scriptural memory work isn’t a sign of maturity. I’ve talked to some drunks before who could quote more scripture than I could. Sometimes, they sit down in these bars and quote scriptures back and forth to one another, but does that make them a mature believer? In 1st Corinthians 8:1, we read, “Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth. Now, we know that we have knowledge, but Paul here is going woopy doo. Knowledge is puffed up, in other words, proud and arrogant. Would you call someone mature if you see them prancing around boasting and bragging about how much knowledge of the word of God they have? No, that’s not maturity. So, someone’s level of scriptural memory work doesn’t necessarily mean they are mature. The point I’m trying to make here is that you do need the word in you as much as possible, but I’m telling you the knowledge of the word without the love of God will bring pride into your life. In the scripture above, knowledge is boastful but charity, or love, edifies. It lifts one another up, it builds up. So, someone with the knowledge of the word would use the word to build someone up and not to show off their spiritual expertise, they wouldn’t use the word to tear them down, or use the word to judge them. Spiritually mature people will learn the word of God, they will prophesy, they will use the gifts, but their main goal is the love of God. Praise the Lord. 1 Corinthians 13 is what we call the love chapter. Paul says here that even though he has all these things, even though he can prophecy, if he doesn’t have love, he has nothing. If you want to be something, you’re going to have to start walking in the love of God. Understand that there will be no reward for works done if they are not done in Agape- the love of God. In His Love, Doc Agape love is a love from a supreme being to totally unworthy and undeserving objects. How many of you would say, Glory to God, I’m in the bible? This love produces within them love back to the giver of this love. It also produces a practical love towards others that have received the same love. We should be operating and practicing this kind of love towards each other, the brethren.
For some, this will come easy, some will have to work at this, and yet for others it becomes a sacrifice. We all fit that description. We all were totally unworthy, undeserving, and we got his love anyway. Amen? Praise the Lord. We need to understand there is nothing we can do to deserve it. There’s no works, there’s nothing you can do; you can’t get good enough to deserve the love of God. If you work hard enough to get it, then it ceases being love, it ceases being grace, and becomes a salary. Open your bible to Galatians 5: 22, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” I’m thoroughly convinced the fruit of the Spirit is love. The word fruit there is also growth. The more you grow in this love, the more you grow in Jesus. These other things are by-products of growing in love. You grow in the Spirit by studying the word, hearing the word, practicing the word, speaking the word, and being a doer of the word. You must get the word of God in you to release the love of God that is in you. So, the fruit of the Spirit is love. The result of love is joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, all these things. Without the love, you’re not going to have these other things here. No matter what you have, it is nothing without God’s agape love. Okay, so here’s where you want to get out your pen and paper. You might want to write this down because I’m about to explain the by-products. Joy is the expression of love. Peace is the realization of love. Longsuffering is the endurance of love. Gentleness is the administration of love. Goodness is the character of love. Faith is the response of love. Meekness is the disposition of love. Temperance is the control of love. Joy-is experienced when love is expressed. In other words, when love is expressed, joy is experienced. I don’t pray for someone to have joy. I pray they experience the love of God. Joy is important because the word says the joy of the Lord is my strength. The more love you practice, the more joy you’ll experience. Peace- is experienced when you realize how much God loves you. Joy can usher in peace. These are not gifts, they are fruit. Remember that the practice of love brings in these other things. Longsuffering- another word for this is patience. This comes from something you have to go through. Tribulation works patience. Longsuffering, as a by-product of love, helps you stay the same under every kind of pressure. When you practice love, that love will cause you to be enduring-patient. 1Corin 13:4 says love suffers long. It builds a certain patience in you that is confident, strong, and overcoming. Love endures a long time. Gentleness-is what is perceived by others when you walk in love. Gentleness is the administration of love. It is love in action. In the Greek, this word means moral excellence and integrity. Goodness-describes what love is like. God is good, God is also love. We are to be walking in the character of goodness. Our reputation should be that of goodness. Faith-this is the word for faithfulness. The more you walk in love the more faithful l you become. Faithfulness is the response of love. The more I am loved, the more faithful I become to the things of God. Meekness-is the disposition of love. The word says Jesus was lowly and meek of heart. I looked it up and it means mild, not wild. Praise the Lord. Even if you had some wilder days, as begin to love you become milder. Temperance-is the control of love. Love has the power to control and rule your life as it should be. Love should be the controlling, motivating factor in your life. Here’s another word for this, discipline. If we’ll let it, love has the power to discipline us. It has the power to control us so that we can serve others better. Love is the motivation behind all of these different manifestations. Amen? Amen! Next issue, we’ll have more on God’s Agape Love. Doc I would like to follow up on my last article on healing by talking about some things that can hinder you from being healed. The primary enemy to healing is doubt and unbelief. Doubt and unbelief are opposing forces to faith. If your doubt and unbelief outweigh your faith then nothing is going to happen for you. That’s true in believing for anything from the Lord.
In Matthew 13 Jesus was ministering in his own home town and it says in verse 58, “And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.” We are not talking about a mere man but Jesus, God in the flesh. If he could do no mighty works because of unbelief, what makes you think you can get anything if you are filled with unbelief? Now, there are many doubts and vast amounts of unbeliefs, but I want to talk about one special doubt that affects most Christians –UNDESERVING! Many people have a hard time receiving anything from the Lord because they feel too undeserving. Guess what? No one deserves anything from the Lord. From the best to the worst, no one deserves what the Lord has done. So, get over it, put that behind you because Grace was designed for the undeserving! We don’t get anything because we deserve it. We get it because it is ALL a gift, courtesy of God’s Grace. As a matter of fact, the more undeserving you are-the greater the grace of God is for you. Romans 5:20. The grace for healing is the same as the grace for salvation; for by grace are you saved by faith. Remember the word grace means God’s gracious love gifts, and the word save-sozo, means saved, healed, made whole, delivered and prospered. So, if you feel undeserving you are right, but rejoice because that makes you a prime candidate for everything Jesus did to bring salvation, healing, wholeness, deliverance and prosperity. Now, that brings me back to the last article I wrote on how to activate the things of God in your life. Confess with your mouth and believe in your heart and you shall be sozo. Speak to your problem the answers provided by our Lord and Savior. At this time do not allow any thoughts of undeserving to even be considered. Dismiss those thoughts vehemently and immediately. John 5:24 says, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word and believeth on Him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but IS passed from death unto life.” Death includes sickness, disease, poverty, un-wholesomeness while life includes ALL the promises of God which includes healing. What you have done or not done in your life IS NOT the issue. What Jesus has done and what you believe about it IS the issue. Get over you and concentrate on Jesus and what He FREELY gave to you. Speak it, believe it, receive it! If you continue with this, you will see results. Just remember, if we do Bible things in Bible ways, we get Bible results, amen? Amen! Blessings, Doc If we do Bible things in Bible ways we get Bible results. We’re going to jump right in this today, so open your bibles to Romans 3:27 which reads, “Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.“
Christians must realize that the Kingdom of God operates by law. I’m not talking about the Old Covenant Law of Moses, for that has ended for the Christian. The word law basically means something that ALWAYS works. The law of gravity, laws of physics, laws of aerodynamics, etc, etc. were established on earth by God. Our Father God has also established laws or principles that always work if you follow the principles that make it operate. There is a law that operates salvation: Romans 10:9-10 reads, 9) That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10) For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Now, every promise in the Word of God is activated in the same manner. The word save, saved, and salvation come from the Greek work sozo, which means saved, healed, whole, blessed, prospered, and delivered. If you operate according to the Biblical steps then the laws of the Kingdom work well. If you operate outside of the Biblical steps they don’t work just like operating contrary to the law of gravity and stepping off a ten story building will kill you. So many Christians operate outside of the laws of healing. They say God is GOING to heal me, or we ask God to heal someone. Those are both wrong, for you see, He has ALREADY healed you. First Peter 2:24 b says, “…by whose stripes ye WERE healed.” This is past tense. In other words, Jesus has already healed you. It’s already done. It’s up to you to believe it and receive it. This is the reason so many precious, sweet and wonderful Christians die believing God is GOING to heal them. You have to believe in the FINISHED work, not only on the cross, but also on the FINISHED work of the whipping post. The laws that govern faith and healing (as well as ALL the promises in the Word of God) are the same laws that it takes to receive the desired results. If we are ignorant of the laws of the Kingdom, then this becomes a hindrance to receiving healing or anything else for that matter. Mark 11: 23 says, “For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.” This is how you operate within the law of faith and healing. Anything outside of these parameters might kill you. It’s not that God killed you, or let you die, you operated outside of the ways of the Kingdom. Now, let me give you a Biblical example. Mark 5:25-35 reads, 25) And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years. 26) And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, 27) When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment. 28) For she said, if I may touch but this clothes, I shall be whole. 29) And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague. 30) And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes? 31) And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, who touched me? 32) And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing. 33) But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth. 34) And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague. Faith is governed by law and this lady operated within that law. Here are the steps:
If you operate within the instructions the Lord gave us in the Word, things happen. If we do Bible things in Bible ways we get Bible results. Doc Sharp Make it Yours Faith Confessions
First Timothy 4:12 says, “Let no man despise thy youth, but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.
If you are new to the faith walk this will be a good place for you to start. Even if you have been walking the faith life for years, it’s a good reminder to grow in what you know about God, his ways, his thoughts, and his kingdom. So, we’re going to break down this verse and when we’re done, you’ll have a better picture of your daily life, and of who you are to become. Despise: we’re going to start right here. It means to look down on. There’s two ways to look at this. One: people looked down on Timothy because of his youth. He was really young when he wanted to help tell others about Jesus. To a Jewish person, one doesn’t become an adult until about the age of 30 to 40 years. The Apostle Paul told Timothy to turn their opinion around by being an example. Two: Paul also was saying “don’t you dare let people’s opinion of you affect you. Be an example in spite of their opinion. Don’t let it hinder you, slow you down, or stop you. Actually use it as motivation to be the best you can be. Be thou: this is the word ginomai. It means to become, to grow, to happen, to be being, to develop or keep developing, be becoming. Note that we must realize that God does not expect us to be perfect and stately overnight. Our Father God does expect us to be willing to grow into what he has called us to be - be being or in the process (making progress). That is discipleship. We have a tendency to look at ourselves and compare the way we are now to the way we are destined to be and get overwhelmed, or feel condemned and eventually give up and quit. WE HAVE NOT BEEN CALLED TO PERFECTION. WE HAVE BEEN CALLED TO CHANGE! Our perfection has already been guaranteed. 1 John 3:2 says, “Beloved, NOW, are we the SONS of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that, when he shall appear, we SHALL be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” (like, in nature and condition) Example: example means a model for imitation. We should be seen changing. Be thou an example-in other words, people should see us constantly change, beginning to be more like Jesus all the time. We are not a model of “complete sainthood,” but a model of a continual, consistent, persistent, and growing in Christ. We want to be consistent in: study, church attendance, listening to bible teachings on cd’s, making ourselves available to attend Christian seminars when they are in your area. We never reach completion this side of heaven, Amen? Amen! Alright, Paul then gives us six areas in which we should be an example or areas in which we are demonstrating change. 1. The Word – growing in the Word of God with the goal of being a doer of the word. James 1:22 says we are to be doers of the word. 2. Conversation – our behavior and conduct has to do with our character and it shows up through our conversation; is it a Godly conversation. Keep it clean. Don’t grumble and complain about things either. 3. Charity – this is the word agape and it’s walking in God’s love at all times. We need to love others the way God loves them. 4. Spirit – to be ruled by the Spirit, walking in the Spiritual Gifts and Fruit, also developing a teachable and humble spirit. 5. Faith – this is becoming a person of faith. You want to become a strong person of great faith. 6. Purity – physical and mental purity. This comes from studying the word of God and adopting its principles as your own or making the word of God the governor of all your affairs, your conduct, your speech, etc. Verse 13 of this passage gives us a formula for success in these 6 areas. 1. Attendance is to apply yourself constantly and habitually so as to be consumed with the study of God’s word. 2. Reading – knowing again, owning it-to be consumed with reading, study habitually unto you “own” it and then, doing it over and over, again, and again-forever. 3. Exhortation- be encouraging especially to those in need. 4. Doctrine- Learn who God is and what he is all about through studying his word, fellowship at church, and then be able to teach others. 5. Your Gift- give yourself to developing your talents and gifts. Practice, practice, and practice it more. Neglect means to be lazy, unconcerned or slothful. Don’t be slothful. 6. Take Heed to Yourself- take responsibility of yourself. Remember that you will be held accountable for what you speak, how you treat others, and what you do with what you learn. Doc Sharp Healing comes the same way that salvation does. Romans 10:9-10, says, 9) “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10) For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
The word saved is the Greek word Sozo. This word has been watered down to mean only that you get to go to heaven when you die. This word actually means so much more than that. It’s an all inclusive word that means salvation, healing, deliverance, and prosperity. So, if you get saved by believing and confessing, you also get healed the same way. The kicker is that you have to believe it. Most churches don’t preach that healing is for today. They concentrate on getting you in heaven. On healing, you hear it either has to be his special will to heal you or he doesn’t heal today at all. Neither one of those are in the Bible! Faith comes one way. Romans 10:17 says, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”1 Peter 2:24 says, “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness; by whose stripes ye were healed.” Jesus went to the cross one time to provide salvation to ALL that would receive it [as a truth], so in like manner, he went to the whipping post one time to provide healing for ALL that would receive it also. Go back to 1 Peter 2:24 and notice that is says …were healed. Most people try believing that God is going to heal them. That doesn’t work. God has already healed them through the 39 stripes that Jesus took for our healing. Just like salvation has already been provided, healing is waiting to be received. Ephesians 2:8-9, 8) “For by grace are ye saved (Sozo) through faith, and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9) not of works, lest any man should boast.” Grace (charis) means an unmerited gift. It’s something you cannot earn; it’s a free gift for the undeserving. Also, remember Sozo means saved, healed, delivered, and prospered. Therefore, healing is a free gift to be received through faith. You can’t get good enough to earn it, you can’t work hard enough to get it. It is a gift for God’s kids. Now, how do you pray? First, you don’t speak to God about your problem. You speak to your problem about your God and what he has done through Jesus. David did this with the giant. He didn’t tell God how big the giant was; he told the giant how big his God was. Mark 11:23-24 says, 23) For verily I say unto you. That whosoever shall say unto this mountain (your problem), be thou removed, and be cast into the sea, and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass, he shall have whatsoever he saith. 24) Therefore, I say unto you, what things soever ye desire, when you pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” In closing, I’ll give you an example of how to pray. “Father, in Jesus name, I thank you that Jesus has provided everything I have need of. I speak to this sickness (name some symptoms, describe the pain, etc) and I tell it to go from me in Jesus’ name. For by his stripes I am already healed, therefore I declare myself well in Jesus name. Amen (so be it). Many times you may need to repeat this until you see what you are praying for manifests. As you speak this over and over again, you will see faith begin to rise up in you and take what you have need of. God is a good Father and he wants you well. Doc If you have been around spirit-filled circles for a while you have probably heard the term legalism. The problem with “Christian verbage” is that most people don’t understand what you are talking about.
Legalism is trying to gain God’s love, favor, and salvation by following the Law from the Old Testament. Many think that following the rules and regulations in the Law is what brought them to God, yet nothing could be further from the truth. The purpose of the Law was to show mankind how impossible it was to get to God. Perfection was required. The Law was designed to show us the impossibility of anyone being good enough to be saved. It was to drive you to the realization that you needed someone to help you. That someone is Jesus. Salvation can come ONLY through God’s grace. Jesus came, lived the law perfectly and then died in our place to answer the fact that sin HAD to be paid for. Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Jesus was the perfect sacrifice for all of your sins-past, present, and FUTURE! This is because when you become born again, you have traded that old sinful spirit we all were born with for God’s Holy Spirit. That’s why you cannot be BOTH an old sinner and saved by Grace. After Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection, God (now Father) can now offer the FREE GIFT of salvation to ALL that believe in John 3:16. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Now, the problem is that many believe that you are saved by grace (Ephesians 2:8-9) but that to maintain your salvation you now have to follow all the rules. The Apostle Paul had this problem in the early church with what he called Judaizers. These were Jews that had been saved but felt that Christianity was just an extension of Judaism and believed that the Law was still to be followed. He wrote in Gal 1: 6-7: 6) “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel. 7) Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.” In Galatians 3:1, Paul gets a little stronger with his message. “O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?” So many Christians try to keep one foot in grace and the other foot in the law. That’s what legalism is. We hear sermons of ‘if you don’t go to church or if you don’t tithe or if you don’t read your bible you’re going to hell.’ Folks, all of those things are good and needful, BUT that is NOT what saves you. Only Jesus and faith in Him and what He did for us is what saves you. I used to tell the people in my church that you can’t do good enough to go to heaven and you can’t do bad enough to go to hell. Salvation is not based on what you do. It’s based on whether you believe in Jesus as Savior. At this point some will ask ‘what about confession of sins and living a holy life?’ Those things are necessary but not to keep you saved. Confession and repentance and living holy (trying to) keep the devil from having an open door to kill, steal, and destroy you; 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.” It all boils down to this. You are not saved by following the Law, but by believing in and receiving Jesus as Savior and LORD. Romans 10:4 says, “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.” Jesus fulfilled every aspect of the Law and then was sacrificed as the perfect Lamb of God to pay for every sin you have committed, or will ever commit. Glory! To try and go back and live the Law is saying that Jesus didn’t do enough, so I have to cover what he didn’t do. What a lie! If you have struggled trying to live perfectly to get God’s love and salvation then stop. Repent, relax, and accept what Jesus has done for you. Amen. Doc As a reminder, the preparation time before any move of God is always tough, but that’s where we’re at. We’re going to get excited anyway, because we know what’s coming, don’t we? The greatest move the church has ever seen is well on its way. As I’ve mentioned before, our job is to get ready. Get prepared for this next move of God, amen?
Last month we talked about the three types of men, meaning mankind- this is not gender specific. The three types are natural, carnal, and spiritual. We talked about the motives and characteristics of each one. I really thought it was good when you lay hands on a person, they get touched by God, and they get up off of the floor healed. That’s what made the Pharisee’s mad about Jesus. It made them mad because they were losing some of their congregation to go hear Jesus. They got really mad because Jesus was saying things they didn’t believe. Jesus was doing things that they felt had been done away with. Hello. It upset their theology. There’s a lot of cessation theology that goes around. Theology that says that’s been done away with, that the gifts of the Spirit are done away with, and apostles and prophets are done away with. Those teachings are wrong. That’s not bible; that’s the doctrines of men and the doctrines of devils. Rejoice when you see people being healed and set free by God. Because that’s when you know you are in the center of the will of God. We ended last month on taking up our cross. Taking up your cross may be different than me because of what God has called you to do. That’s why you don’t want to try to do what someone else is doing. Like I said, we’re getting ready for more moves of God. When God begins to move, it’s worldwide, not just local. It hits in different places around the world. No matter where the move is, or what’s going on, and we need to be ready. It’s going to hit small towns, big towns. It’s going to hit nations, and islands. It’s going to hit all over the world. This is going to be one of the major moves of God before Jesus comes back. Amen? How many of you want to be a part of it? How many of you are tired of being spectators? Blessings will abound for those that have prepared and made themselves ready to be usable by the Lord. Whenever there’s a move by God there’s always fresh revelation that God brings to the church. I want to be ready. The word says there is nothing new under the heavens. That’s true. There is nothing new to God but we don’t know everything. There’s plenty that’s new to us. It was new when we got born again. People have been getting born again for centuries. It was new when we received the baptism of the Holy Ghost. This has been happening since the day of Pentecost. There’s been some revelation that has been lost in the church. It wasn’t lost to the early church, but it has been lost and God is restoring these things in the last days. So, anytime there’s a major move of God, there’s going to be a major revelation and it’s going to hit the whole world and spread. This doesn’t mean the whole world accepted it or will accept it. You want to be prepared to do your part when God moves and the revelations begin to hit your part of the world. We don’t want to miss out on the opportunity for someone to get saved. We don’t want to have to go to God and try to explain why we missed the opportunity to help someone get to Christ. Now, remember there’s the natural man, the carnal man, and the Spiritual man. Our goal as born again believers is become Spiritual men. Again, this is not gender specific so this is not leaving out the ladies. We’re talking about man-kind. And we’ve got to know who we are ministering to and how to minister to them. You are going to have to know by the Holy Spirit how to tailor make your ministry for that person. We’ve just got to be ready. Let’s look at 1st Corinthians 2:14. “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. We need to pray before we try to witness. You see, you can talk to someone until you are blue in the face and they will not hear you. They can’t. It takes the Holy Ghost; it takes the Spirit of God to be able to open their understanding just to get them to the place of salvation. If you go out and try to win people to the Lord without first going to God and getting the Holy Spirit involved in the situation, most of the time it will be a big waste of time. The best way to witness is to find out who the Holy Ghost wants you to witness to. It’ll be those He’s been working on. Before a person can get saved, there has to be a seed planted. And then it has to be watered many times. There has to be someone who plants the need for Jesus. Then there has to be someone who keeps speaking the word. Sometimes you might have to back off, don’t push them. God will surround them. If you’ll get involved, get the Holy Spirit involved and when the seed has been planted and properly watered, then it can be harvested. Amen? We’re to work with God. We seem to think we’re supposed to work for Him. You are not supposed to work for Him. You are supposed to work with Him. Don’t leave Him out of anything. Work in conjunction, in communion with God. That’s the only way a natural man is going to come to an understanding, because he can’t do this on his own. The things of God are spiritually discerned. Study the word; spend time with God so you’ll be ready to be used by God when He needs you. Doc I know the preparation time before a move of God is always tough; that’s where we’re at. We need to get excited anyway because we know what’s coming, don’t we? The greatest move the church has ever seen is on the way. Our job is to get ready, to get prepared for this move of God.
We have three types of mankind. We have the natural man, the carnal man, and the spiritual man. The natural man is the lost man and they don’t understand the things of God. They don’t understand the word, the gifts of the spirit. And you have to be able to be sensitive to minister to them. Much of what you say to them it will completely blow them away. You have to become sensitive to the Spirit to know what to say and what not to say. There are some things you can say that will chase them off. We don’t want to chase them off; we want to get them saved, right? The carnal man- this is the born again man, even born again spirit filled Christians. Wasn’t the Corinthian church a Spirit-filled church? Paul called them carnal. He said the reason I know there’s carnality is because there is envying, strife, and division in the church. That’s carnal. Paul continued to say they were walking as men, as mere men. In other words, you are born again, spirit filled and walking as a natural man. You are walking as though you weren’t saved. Our goal is to become spiritual men. Most of the church world is living like this. They are in it for what they can get out of it, they couldn’t care less about what other people are doing, and they just want their brownie points, go on and go to heaven and phooey on the rest of the world. As long as we sit, do nothing, we don’t intercede, we don’t attempt to grow, we don’t attempt to get the word stored in us, we don’t have any desire to walk in the gifts of the spirit, then we are in it for “me.” Hello. And you’ve been left here for a higher calling than that. It’s not enough to just live a good moral life; you must live to what God has called you to be. You see, God wants you to win the lost, heal the sick. He wants you to cast out devils, perform miracles. If necessary, he wants you to walk on water. He wants us to rule and reign. How many of you reading this feel qualified to rule and reign right now? Let’s start in 1st Corinthians 3:1, “And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual (that’s our goal), but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. The Corinthian church was filled with the Spirit and walking in the gifts, but being spirit filled doesn’t make you a mature Christian. In verse 2, “I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.” Our goal is to be able to eat meat, to grow up and become the useful servant, useful warriors that God called and designed you to be. Amen. Verse 3, “For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? Here’s born again, spirit filled people acting like lost people. I’ve seen churches split because they didn’t like the carpet. That’s carnal. Doesn’t that sound like an infant, like a little kid, to scream and throw a fit because they didn’t get their way? Our goal is to grow up, become spiritual men, spiritual women, grown up-mature people that are fully equipped that are ready and available to be used at a moment’s notice by the King, being instant in season and out. Turn to 1st Corinthians 2:1-4: 1) “And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. 2) “For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. 3) And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. 4) And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: The testimony of the spiritual man is Jesus. The spiritual man is the one that takes up his cross daily. Learn more about taking up your cross by reading Matthew 16:24; Matthew 10:38. Taking up your cross is being obedient to what God has called you to do. Don’t take up someone else’s cross by trying to do and be like them. There calling will be different than yours. Begin to do daily what God has for you to do, that’s taking up your cross. The messages I bring you is to help equip you to do your calling in life. This is the most fantastic generation to be alive in. It’s for such a time as this that you’ve been brought into the Kingdom. You were reserved for this time. God placed you here for this day and time. This is the most exciting time the world is ever going to see and we’ve got to get ready. God wants you to be blessed, but you can’t sit and do nothing. God is preparing us not only for graduation but for life that’s coming shortly. Things are going to start changing and God’s going to have to have educated people. I’m not talking about going to seminary. I’m talking about getting in the word, find out what God has called you to do and to study and show yourself approved so that God can use you. Great is the harvest, few are the laborers. Folks, t here’s not enough laborers right now if a revival was to start. Some time back I worked some numbers. According to the number of Christians in the world at that time, every one of us would have to personally minister to a hundred thousand people to get us to the place where God is going to take us. Are we mature enough to be sensitive enough to know how to minister to a hundred thousand people? We need to get ready. God’s called us to take up our cross, to have a testimony of Jesus Christ. He wants us to be spiritual people. Doc In talking about the law of identification, that word identification can mean unity. Jesus came and unified himself with us. The first union is he came from the throne took on flesh and became man.
This is God we are talking about. Jesus was from the beginning. Jesus has always been but not always Jesus in the flesh as he did more than 2000 years ago. He took on our flesh and identified with our humanity. He didn’t sin, yet he identified with our sin by taking it on himself. He bore our sin for us and paid the price we owed. What price was that? Death. Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” The wages of sin is death. He came and paid what I couldn’t pay. If I had paid this price, it would be for me, I would be doing the suffering for only me. Jesus came and paid this price for not only you and me but for the whole world. He identified with my sin, your sin, and all the sin in the world that had ever been, is now, or ever would be. He identified with our sin, our pains, our sickness, all of the deformities, all of the distortions, and everything that mankind could possibly get Jesus took it for us. He died with our death. He was separated from God the Father so that I wouldn’t have to be. We were made alive unto Him. He died with my death so I could become alive to God. He took my death so that I could leave spiritual death and become alive. We’re going to continue in this series with the righteousness of God. The church as a whole has no concept of them being righteous. Some have had the idea that one day, when we get to heaven, we will be righteous. I’m going to tell you that if you are not righteous before you get there you won’t stay there. You’re going to have to be righteous here to get in there, amen? Jesus came and took our unrighteousness so that I could become righteous with his righteousness. As a born again believer, I am righteous. Remember, Jesus went into the very lowest pit. Psalms 88 says he was taken to the lowest pit, the deepest place. The most torment that could be had Jesus suffered in hell with your sin. He didn’t suffer just on the cross. He suffered spiritually. Jesus bore everything so that we wouldn’t have to. If Jesus didn’t go there, you will. We are more than just a physical body. You are spirit, soul, and body. You are a spirit, you live in a body, and you have a soul which makes up your mind, will, and your emotions. And Jesus took care of all three levels. He died physically, he suffered emotionally, and he suffered spiritually as well as dying spiritually. As I’ve explained before, dying spiritually is not ceasing to exist. Dying spiritually is being separated from God. God turned his back on Jesus. Jesus suffered separation, he suffered spiritual death. He was in the earth for three days. He suffered there until God said enough. He defeated the devil, took the keys of death, hell, and the grave, and then went into that compartment called Abraham’s bosom, preached to the captives there and led them home. Jesus suffered everything so that we wouldn’t have to. He made a way for us to be in the Father just as he is. The word says that when we meet him, we’ll become just like him. Praise the Lord. Hallelujah. We step out of this and we go on into perfection. You go on into full holiness. You go on into full righteousness. You step out of this and you go on to become just like Jesus. Amen. Praise God. We must understand that Jesus wants us to be with him in all his Glory. He wants you to have what he has. He had to come and take away everything attached to death so that we could have everything attached to life. He loves us that much. Can you shout Amen? We’ve been talking about the law of identification; we’ve been talking about Christ oneness with us. The word identification can mean oneness or unity. Jesus came into unity with us. As a matter of fact, He did things for us that we couldn’t do for our self. He took things from us that we couldn’t give up. If it had not of been for Jesus, we couldn’t’ give up hell. Hell would be our eternal destination except for Jesus. So, we talked about that two-fold oneness, how Jesus became one or came into unity with our sin and our humanity on the cross. The second part of that is our unity with Him in His Glory on the throne.
He was made sin with our sin. He took my sin, if he didn’t, I would bear it. If he didn’t come to take our place there wouldn’t be any forgiveness folks. The word says in Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” In other words, death is the penalty for sin. Now, that penalty isn’t just ‘poof-go away’. That penalty had to be paid. So, just because you have been forgiven doesn’t mean the penalty is not going to be paid. The penalty was paid. The wages of sin is death. Being born in sin, you had the sentence of death on your life. And you had to pay the penalty. So, when Jesus came and became one with us and took on our sin upon him, that penalty was paid. Justice has been satisfied. Justice is blind. It doesn’t matter who paid it, just so it’s paid. You know a light bill is that way. They don’t care who pays the bill so long as it’s paid. They’ve got a stub with your name on it – it’s paid and they’re satisfied. You had a bill, you owed a debt. Jesus paid the debt and justice is happy. Justice is satisfied. The debt is paid. So, when a bill is not paid, they will turn your lights out. Likewise, if you don’t accept the fact the Jesus paid your bill, they are going to turn your lights out. It’s called hell, eternal darkness. We showed you that Jesus took on our sicknesses. Why did he do that? He did it so that we wouldn’t have to. So when sickness comes, you can just ell it where to go. Jesus has already bore this, I have the right to have health. I don’t care what the symptoms are, or how strong they are, or how long they hang on, they don’t have the right to. And if you’ll keep standing on the word of God, on the promises of God-the covenant of God, those symptoms will eventually have to leave because Jesus has already born them. Now, we’re going to get into the suffering and what it resulted in for me. Turn to Psalms 88. Now you really need to read all of this, but I’m not going to do it today. I’m going to read just enough of it o let you know that Jesus suffered spiritually as well as physically. This is actually a messianic prophecy. It’s messianic in what Jesus is going to do. We read in verse 1) O LORD God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before thee: 2) Let my prayer come before thee: incline thin ear unto my cry; 3) For my soul is full of troubles and my life draweth night unto the grave. 4) I am counted with them that go down into the pit: I am as a man that hath no strength: 5) Free among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, whom thou rememberest no more: and they are cut off from thy hand. Now this is a prophecy about Jesus. A lot of people get upset when they hear that Jesus went to hell. It’s dangerous to come against the things that Jesus did. Why did he go to hell? So that you and I wouldn’t have to. If he didn’t, you would. Amen. Jesus identified with everything that you would have to pay , he bore it himself, he took it into his own being, so that you wouldn’t have to. Jesus’ death on the cross was more than just physical. It was physical, it was emotional, and it was spiritual. He cried out my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me. At that point for the first time in all of history, Jesus experienced separation from God. He ceased being Father, and started calling him God. All the times before when Jesus spoke of God he called him Father. Even when he was 12 in the Temple, he told his parents don’t you know that I must be about my Father’s business. But when he was on the cross, he’s suddenly saying,” My God.” It changed. God had turned his back and Jesus experienced for the first time what you and I were born into: separation from God. He experienced being dead in the spirit. A lot of people get upset about this, but we must understand that spiritual death is not cessation. It is not the stopping of just being. Spiritual death is separation from God. Actually, this was a trick on the devil. You see, even where Jesus bore our sins, he was sinless. So, the devil, in his plea over having defeated God, took an innocent man to hell. That’s what made it legal for God to step back in and take back that which Adam had surrendered to the devil. That’s why Jesus could go into the very pits of hell and take the keys of death, hell, and the grave and defeat the devil. Amen, Praise God – Praise God. You see, Jesus suffered. Turn over to Acts 13. Jesus suffered, he died, and then he rose again. And he did it more than just spiritually. He did it physically, too, but he did it spiritually first. He rose from the lowest pit spiritually, went back into his body, and physically rose from the dead. Why did he rise back up spiritually and physically? So, that you could, too. You just don’t have to go to hell to do it. Jesus has already done it. He’s already fulfilled everything that justice would have to say about your sin. Acts 13 verse 32) “ And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers, 33) God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, thou are my Son, this day have I begotten thee.” Do you know that Jesus was the first born again man? When we hear I have begotten thee, our minds race back to December when we celebrate Christmas. This is not talking about the day that Jesus was born of Mary. His physical birth is not near as important as his second birth. When Jesus was raised up out of that lowest pit, up out of that grave, God said, Now this day I’ve begotten thee. Hallelujah, Thank you Jesus. Jesus went from being the only begotten Son to being the first born from the dead. In Colossians 1: 17-18 we read that Jesus is the first born from the dead. That word first is important because if there is a first, there is a second. If there is a second, there’s going to be a third because God is no respecter of persons. And your number is in there somewhere because Jesus died, he suffered, he rose again, became the first begotten so that we could become the ‘begotten’ of God, too. Praise God – that’s some shouting ground folks. We have one more installment in this series, and then we'll move on to a new two part series call Natural, Carnal, Spiritual. Feel free to leave your thoughts and comments; I will get back to you. Doc In part one, we talked about things that Jesus identified with us when he came in the flesh. And we told you that he identified with us in sin, he took our sin upon his self. And we also found out that he took our sicknesses upon his self and that the word is the medicine for the sickness.
Now, this is one reason it takes a while for health to come to your physical body, because it has to be taken care of spiritually before it can work its way out to the physical. Every once in a while, boom, there will be instantaneous healing, and it’s great, it’s wonderful, but that is a very small minority of the time. The majority of the time healing comes with time and that’s because healing starts with the spirit. Next, in identifying things that Jesus took on or substituted or came into union with us on is that we died with him. Isaiah 53: 9 says, “And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.” Let’s look at the word death. This word death should be plural as in deaths, because Jesus died twice. I think in the original Hebrew text for Gen 2:17 it says in dying you die rather than thou shalt surely die according to the King James Version of the bible. Did Jesus not cry out My God My God why hast thou forsaken me? That was the spiritual death. You see, Adam and Eve had spiritual bodies, and when they ate fruit of the forbidden tree, they died spiritually. They lost their eternal bodies. Jesus could not die physically until he died spiritually. We were born dead, that’s why we need to be born again by receiving Jesus. We look upon death here as cessation, stopping, no more, or done. This is not the death I’m talking about. Eternal death is separation from God. That was the first time in eternity that Jesus ever experienced separation from God. God turned his back on Jesus, not because he didn’t love him anymore, but because he could not look at the sin that was piled upon him. God turned his back on the sin, and in this, because he was separated, Jesus experienced spiritual death. Now because of this, Jesus could die physically. Jesus didn’t have a mortal (meaning subject to death or death doomed) body like us. He didn’t have an immortal body. He had an eternal body, one that would live forever. So, Jesus died spiritually and then naturally. He died the natural death when he said it is finished and gave up the Holy Ghost. In other words, his spirit left his body at that point. When Jesus rose, he didn’t rise the way we do. When he rose he went back into his eternal body. Before he was crucified, he was flesh and blood. After he was crucified he was flesh and bone-spiritual body. Abel’s blood cried out for vengeance. He was murdered by his brother Cain, see Gen 4:10. It says there that Abel’s blood cries out to God. Jesus’ blood is in front of God on the mercy seat and it’s crying out. His blood is fresh; it hasn’t dried up or flaked away. It’s on the mercy seat of God, crying for better things than the blood of Abel. It’s crying out for Mercy! Amen, Praise the Lord. John 10. Let’s start in verse 17, which says, “Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. 18) No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.” Turn to Romans 6: 8 says, “Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him.” Jesus took our death, our separation from God, he identified with that, came into union with our death. And by him paying the price of dying, because the wages of sin is death, it had to be paid, and when he went as the representative of the human race, justice was met. Now, the only time that justice will take up in your place is if you reject what Jesus did then you must pay the price, which will be eternal death, see also Hebrews 10: 28-31. But it says we’ve got this confidence, if we know that we died with him, we must also know that we’re going to live with him. He identified with us in death so that we could identify with him in Life. Stay tuned there's more to come on our Identification with Jesus. Doc Jesus came to become as we are so that we could become as he is. That’s the process of identification. In this message, we’re going to show you what Jesus did for us, so that we could be like Jesus. When we get through with this, we’re going to head into ruling with Kings and dominion. We’ll talk about how to rule as a King and walk in dominion that Jesus bought back for us. This foundation will teach you who you are because of what Jesus has done. Amen.
This word identification is what Jesus did with us when he came to be a man. It means union, and it also means constitution. The teaching of identification is the legal side of redemption. We don’t want to get into legalism, but God set up his law and Jesus came and fulfilled that law. We’re going to talk about the legal side of your redemption. The flip side is the vital side or the living side. Now, the complete flip side (vital) is what the Spirit of God is doing in you right now. See, Jesus did some things over 2000 years ago, that he finished, he fulfilled and they are still active today. The flip side, the living side of this is what the Holy Spirit is working in you today. Not only did Jesus identify with us, we have to identify with him. And if we’re walking around feeling unworthy, if we’re walking around feeling like we can’t do anything you have not identified yourself with Jesus in what he’s done. Amen? Identification or the teaching of identification unveils to us what God did in Jesus for us. This identification process took place on one side of the cross all the way to the throne. It was a series of days in there that this identification process started. It started at the trial and it went all the way through until Jesus hit the throne. He identified with us all the way, through the trials, the whipping post, and the cross and then we’re going to have to identify with him all the way up into the throne. Amen. Turn to Galatians 3:28. It says, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” In God’s sight there is no nationality. Hello. There’s not Caucasian, not Negros, there’s not all the colors in between, there’s not all the different nationalities. As far as God is concerned, those that are in Jesus are all the same, and we all are of equal value. In other words, Jesus did not come to identify with our genders or our nationalities. Amen. Jesus came to become as we are so that we could become as he is. That’s the process of identification. That’s why it’s so bad to go around and say I can’t do this, and I can’t do that, and I’m terrible, and I’m just rotten to the core, Jesus just couldn’t use me. You are going to have to start identifying with what Jesus has done. You are going to have to start recognizing what Jesus has done. He did some things for you that you were required to do and now you’ve been set free from them. We’ve been set free from hell. In the same process of being set free from hell, we’ve been set free to heaven. We’ve been set free from darkness because of what Jesus did so that we could be set free in the light. Our oneness or our sameness with Jesus is like being the same and is two-fold. One: His oneness with our sin and humanity on the cross. He identified with that. He became one with us in our humanity. That’s what the Christmas story is all about. Jesus came from the throne, took on a flesh, blood, and body and became human like us. I’m telling you, it’s very important that he took on flesh, because if he didn’t, we’re doomed. So he identified and became the same with us by becoming one like us. Now, the other part of this two- part in our oneness or sameness with him is his glory on the throne. He had to become like us before we could become like him. Jesus came to take our place in judgment, in sin, in corruption, in sickness, in death, in poverty, in any other thing that is associated with flesh. He came to take our place in those things. And when we accept what his substitution, what his identification did, then we can receive his glory, we can receive his throne, we can receive his dominion, we can receive his health, his prosperity, and blessings. Amen. Praise God that he’s going to continue doing things, this identification process, until we meet him at the throne. Amen. There's a lot to this series, so check back. Until then' Doc Have you ever heard this or said it yourself, "If God wanted me to have [fill in the blank], He would just give it to me?"
Things like if He wanted me saved, healed, blessed, filled with the Holy Spirit, are all things that people fill in this blank with. This is a complete misunderstanding about the way God works. You must understand that EVERYTHING necessary to make you a victorious, overcoming, successful Christian has ALREADY been given to you. In 2nd Peter 1:3 we read, "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:" Before we continue, I'm going to ask a very profound question right there. How much is ALL? Now, what does hath mean? We would say 'has', wouldn't we? Let me rephrase it. He has already given you all things! At this point you might be wondering why then don't I have ALL things. Let me paint you another picture. There is a beautiful present, it has a nice wrapping, an awesome bow, and above all it has your name on it. When does that it actually become yours? When you take it, right. When you lay hold of it and claim it, then it becomes yours. Everything God gives us is a present, or as the Word calls it, a gift. Salvation is a gift, as is healing, the baptism in the Holy Spirit, the gifts of the Spirit, etc. You can't work for it, get good enough to earn it, or deserve it. It is a gift. So, just as a birthday present or a Christmas present (gift) has to be taken, so are the gifts of God. Many Christians pray asking God for many things but they ever reach out and take them. He has given us everything we have need of before we need it, but, if you don't take it, it never becomes yours. Matthew 11:12 says, "And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force." Let's do a quick word study. The word violence is biazo which means to crowd oneself into or to be seized. The word violent means violent or mighty. Hopefully, you will begin to get the picture that you have to become aggressive with the things of God. The word take is harpazo which means to seize, catch away, pluck, pull or take by force. Are you beginning to see that the passive Christian isn't going to have anything. God will not lay i tin your lap, you must be aggressive enough to take whatever He has provided for us. He has provided everything we have need of, but it must be received (taken). The question now is HOW do I get aggressive and take the things of God? Roman's 10:8-9 says, "8) "But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; 9) That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10) For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." Now, before you say that's just about getting saved, I'll agree with you, but saved means saved, healed, delivered, blessed, whole, and prospered. Matter of fact, every promise and gift of God is wrapped up in that small four lettered Greek word, sozo. Sozo is the root word meaning all of the things previously listed. I explained this in a previous post about Salvation. Everything you need starts with believing and confessing, but there is one more ingredient - doing. James 1:22 says, "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves." When I first started in the Word 48 years ago, I took the Word as fact. If it said I could lay hands on the sick and they would recover, I'd say out loud Lord if you say I can do it then, I will do what you say. Actually, I asked the Lord for some sick ones to pray for. I said, Lord I have hands give me some sick ones to pray for." I actually activated that gift by believing and saying. Begin to search the word and find out what God says you can do and activate it in your life. A word of caution, don't be concerned about results as much as being obedient to God's word. I prayed for many people before I saw it really begin to function. Keep at it, don't give up, for it's much like a toddler learning to walk; it comes with practice. Now, go be doers of the Word! Doc I want to talk to you today about a subject that seems very simplistic to most Christians, but one in which very few have an understanding about. Actually, most don’t have a clue.
Salvation is what I’m talking about. This word usually gets a response of “you go to heaven when you die”. While that is true, it is only a small part of salvation. See, the Greek word for salvation is soteria and the root word is sozo. The meaning of sozo is saved, healed, delivered, whole, blessed, and prosperous. Matter of fact, every promise in the Word of God is wrapped up in that one little four letter word, sozo. Now, that I have preached to the choir, let me get to my main topic. Most people receive Jesus as Lord and Savior, ie get saved, and usually will “feel” peace, joy, jubilation, or even euphoric. It’s usually the next day that the devil begins to work on you. You find out you still have some of the same problems you did before you got saved. Some of the same desires you had before, are still there. You find out many of your physical and soulish problems are still in place. At this point, you begin to think if I got “really” saved, I wouldn’t still have all of these things going on in my life. I’ve heard many people lament “this Christian life is just too hard, I can’t do it.” My response to that for years has been, “Wrong; it's not too hard, it is impossible." The only one who could and did was Jesus and you are not Him. Roman’s 10:13 says, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” And Roman’s 10: 9 – 10 says, 9) “that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10) “For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Many believe that when you get saved then they should be perfect; not so. Part of you is but two thirds of you is still a “hot mess.” 1st Thessalonians 5:23 says, “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. You must realize that we are a triune person, that is, we are made of three parts: spirit, soul, and body. In other words, we are a spirit that has a soul and lives in a body. The real you is spirit, it’s your spirit that is saved, redeemed, and in union with the Holy Spirit, Jesus and the Father. 2nd Corinthians 5:17-18 says, “Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he IS a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given in us the ministry of reconciliation.” [emphasis mine] In my spirit, I AM new, but the rest of me is not. I still mess up, sin, have bad attitudes, etc. The good news is that it isn’t my spirit doing it. Romans 4:8 says, “Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.” There is no sin attached to my spirit because of His sacrifice. In Romans 6:11 we are exhorted to “reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. My born –again spirit is dead to sin. I AM alive in Jesus. Now, does that mean I don’t need to be concerned with sin in my body? No, Romans 6: 12 says, “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.” Any time the bible says “let not”, it means you have the control. Some of you say well how do I do that. Glad you asked. As you get into God’s Word your soul which is your mind, will, and emotions, will begin to line up with God’s will and way. Like a little puppy, your flesh (body) will simply follow. In Romans 6:22 we read, “But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God…[read all of Romans chapter 6] Now, this brings me to the actual reason I wrote this. I have found that many in the church are not more successful in the things Jesus instructed us to do. John 14:12 says, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.” [emphasis mine] The majority of the church has an Old Testament mindset of being a sinner. Many confess that “I’m just an old sinner saved by grace.” If you are born again then you were a sinner but you are NOW saved by grace. Please understand sinner has to do with your nature more than what you do. Your sin nature led you to sin, but you don’t have a sin nature anymore. You are a born again child of the Most High God. You have a new nature, so get into the Word and renew your mind according to the “washing of the water of the word. Eph 5:26.” As you learn WHO you are in Christ, and then find out WHAT you have because of His grace and then you will begin to walk in WHAT YOU CAN DO because the Holy Spirit lives in you. So few have won the lost, healed the sick, cast out devils, and performed miracles, BUT that IS our calling. I have won the lost, healed the sick, raised the dying off of their death beds, delivered demoniacs and I’m just getting started. Do I do this because I’m so special or wonderful? No. It’s because Jesus paved the way and then by His grace gave me the tools to do these things. Every born again believer not only can do these things but we are responsible to do this. My exhortation at this time is get into the Word, find out WHO you are, WHAT you have and then begin to do WHAT you can do! Stop living in the Old Testament mindset and do away with your unworthy attitude (because Jesus paid the price-He considered you worth the cost) and undeserving attitude (because you are not deserving-grace gives it to you) and set out in obedience to the call on each of your lives. If you have any questions or comments, click the blue comments link below. I will get back to you. Thank you for dropping by, and have a blessed day. Doc The next Motivational Gift we’ll talk about is the Leader - Organization – Ruler.
How many of you feel like you are an organized person? Do you delegate responsibility well? This may be your gift.
He directed the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem. Set time schedule as seen in Neh 2:6. He motivated people to work, Neh 2: 17-18. And in Neh chapter three, it shows different people organized into different jobs. Read the whole book of Nehemiah; it’s 13 chapters but it will give you a good overall picture of this gift in operation. The next Motivational Gift we’ll talk about is Organization – Ruler.
How many of you feel like you are an organized person? Do you delegate responsibility well? This may be your gift. A. This person is a leader, they set goals, they are well organized, and is not afraid to delegate responsibilities to others. This person helps make the fellowship flow smoother. They lead by working with and through others. They like to see the work spread around and wants to see the body of Christ busy about the Father’s business. B. Characteristics 1. Ability to see overall picture and can clarify long range goals 2. They are motivated to organize that which he is in charge of 3. They don’t put off work, they like to work to get things done in a timely manner 4. They have an awareness of resources available to complete tasks 5. Has the ability to delegate – this is not natural ability. In other words, it’s done in love verses ordering people around 6. This ruler doesn’t volunteer for things to do, they have to be asked 7. If no one is leading, they will take over the project and see it finished 8. Can take criticism 9. Enjoys seeing all the pieces come together 10. Needs more challenges 11. Organized at church; not necessarily at home C. Misunderstandings 1. Appears lazy because of delegating ability 2. May appear hard (callus) because they endure flack very well 3. Usually doesn’t explain well. Workers may feel “used” 4. Views workers as resources (their skills, talents, knowledge, etc) 5. Works people too hard D. Example of a Ruler – Nehemiah He directed the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem. Set time schedule as seen in Neh 2:6. He motivated people to work, Neh 2: 17-18. And in Nehemiah chapter three, it shows different people organized into different jobs. Read the whole book of Nehemiah; it’s 13 chapters but it will give you a good overall picture of this gift in operation. |
Dr. H. R. SharpJust a man armed with the Word of the LORD. Available now in the store
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