The Power of God unto Salvation

Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ:  for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth:  to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”

The power of God to everyone that believeth.

Are you such a one?

Do you evidence this power of God in your life?

For this power unto salvation is spiritual reality.  

“For He shall save His people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21)

This means Jesus Christ delivers us from them.  In Hebrews it is called, “to the uttermost” (Hebrews 7:25)

This is not just a wiping away of the past sins, although that is true.

It is the saving of the sins of today:  that is,  He saves us from doing them….and yes, He saves us from wanting to do them, as well.

This is what it means by “to the uttermost”.

Our Salvation is four-fold:

1. From the love of sin….this is not complete, but it is a real change in you, where your sin is concerned.    (It becomes a burden….and you feel it’s weight against you.)
2. From the guilt of sin…by being born again: receiving Christ Jesus into your heart and life.     Romans 8:1 “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus,  who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”     We are not condemned,  but at liberty to walk with God!
3. From the power of sin…by the obedience to His Will…by yielding to the Holy Spirit within.    Romans 6:16 “Know ye not,  that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey,     his servants ye are   to whom ye obey; whither of sin unto death,    or of obedience unto righteousness?”   Here we get the power of God for our everyday lives….against sin and the world.  (We are “under new management”).     For God empowers obedience, and blesses it with a growing love for Himself, within us.
4. From the presence of sin.    Taken into His glorious Presence in Heaven…whether by Rapture, or when we die, to be with Him forever.

Ephesians 1:3-4, 11-12 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,  Who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

                                         According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world,  that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love:

                                        In Whom we also have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him Who worketh all things after the council of His own will:

                                        That we should be to the praise of His glory, who first trusted in Christ.”

Predestination has to do with the calling and place of our work.  It has to do with the “path” He places us in.     He predestinated us to certain good works, and then places within us, by His Holy Spirit, the power and ability to do them…for His sake.

He has a purpose for all He has saved.  And all this was set in motion for us….you and me…before times eternal.

Think of it!  God Almighty has a purpose for me.   Though I rebelled against Him and His Will,  yet He set His love upon me, and drew me to Himself:

John 6:37, 44 “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.

                          No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.”

In the scriptures, the purpose God called me to, is spoken of as: “good works”,  or “bringing forth fruit”

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.”

(And His works were prayer, preaching, calling others to the Kingdom of God, feeding, healing, and manifesting the words and works of His Father God.

All this He did before He laid down His life for us.)

John 15:16 “Ye have not chosen Me,  but I have chosen you,  and ordained you,  that ye should go and bring forth fruit and that your fruit should remain;  that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in My name,  He may give it you.”

Ephesians 2:10 “For we are His workmanship,  created in Christ Jesus  unto good works,  which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”

Colossians 3:16-17 “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom;  teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,  singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

                                   And whatsoever ye do in word or deed,  do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him.”

Titus 2:14, 3:8 “Who gave Himself for us,  that He might redeem us from all iniquity,  and purify unto Himself a peculiar people,  zealous of good works.”

                             This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly,  that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works.   These things are good and profitable unto all men.”

Our purpose, is to pray—for ourselves, and others;  to witness of the light of God in our own life;  to preach, teach, be a soul winner,  as we are called.  

We are to seek the good of all men (and there is no good, without God in it).

These are the obediences which are given to us to do, for the glory of Christ.  Big or small in the world’s eyes….they are of great value to Jesus.

Everyone has their place in His purpose.  And it is as we are in our place, walking with Him everyday, that we fulfill our purpose.

God’s salvation is full of power.  Power to save us to “the uttermost”, and power to save others, through us.

What greatness dwells in Him….and He is, by the Holy Spirit, in us.  Let us draw out His grace for our life.

Stephen, the Church’s First Martyr 

Acts 6:3-5 “Wherefore brethren,  look ye out among you seven men of honest report,  full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom,  whom we may appoint over this business.

                       But we will give ourselves continually to prayer,  and to the ministry of the word. 

                       And the saying pleased the whole multitude:  and they chose Stephen,  a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Phillip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch;”

Here we meet Stephen, born again and willing to minister as he is called…for he is chosen to “serve tables”,  or as a deacon.

There had been a argument between the Grecian Christians and the Hebrew Christians about how the widows of each were being treated.  Some felt that the Grecian widows were not given the same treatment and food, as the others.

(Remember that the Christians, here, had given all to the apostles for the common good. Acts 4:34-35)

If this was to be overseen as it should be,  the apostles would have to leave preaching and teaching the gospel, to see to it.

That could not be….so they told the church there to pray and see who they could choose to deal with the business and practical part of the matters of the church…they became the deacons.

Stephen was one of these.  He was a man of faith and who was filled with the Holy Spirit.

He was not offended because he was given the task of seeing to the food distribution, or dealing with the strifes which come up between brethren.  

Faith sees God and deals with all in the same light:  what does the Lord want done?

He looked on everything he did for the Lord as equally important.

Acts 6:8 “And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people.”

He also did miracles, whether these were of the practical nature of food,  or for illness, it does not say.

But it does bring into the picture those who wanted to prove him wrong.  Notice they “disputed” with him,  not he with them.

But they could not, for “they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake.”

Acts 6:11-12 “Then they suborned men, which said,  We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses,  and against God.

                         And they stirred up the people,  and the elders, and the scribes, and came upon him,  and caught him,  and brought him to the council.”

So here is Stephen before the council, accused falsely by jealous men.

(This council had spoken to Peter and John months earlier,  and had beaten them and let them go,  but now….)

He stands before them, in peace;  calm.  They  “saw his face as it had been the face of an angel.”   Simply, they could tell that he was filled with the Spirit of God, that he was not a blasphemer.

This should have told them that these accusations were false….but, let’s face it,  they wanted to believe the accusations.

Acts 7:1-2 “Then said the high priest,  Are these things so?      And he (Stephen)said,  Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken;  the God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham,  when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Haran,”

In the next 52 verses, Stephen, by the wisdom of God,  showed again and again God’s choice of His people by grace,  not works.

 

God’s use of men who were not reckoned in men’s esteem, but chosen of God to go out,  to lead,  to save,  to build…

There was:

Abraham, to go out to a land that was given in promise, but which he never possessed….

Then Isaac who was circumcised…

Jacob, the younger son, chosen,  and his sons being brought into the covenant;  even though they sold their own brother, Joseph, into slavery…

Yet God saved them, and their whole family by the very man they were jealous of…

Moses’ birth and his rejection when he would have helped his people.  His flight into Midian and God’s call to the very one they refused:

Acts 7:35 “This Moses whom they refused saying,  Who made thee a ruler and a judge?  The same did God send to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the Angel which appeared to him in the bush.”

Stephen told of when Israel, in their further refusal of God’s Words, which made a golden calf.

And even when they were brought in by Joshua, to the promised land,  they turned to idols. 

He told of David as king, fighting their battles,  desiring to build a house for God,  but God chose Solomon to do it.

Yet,  Stephen shows exactly what Solomon said after he dedicated it:

1 Kings 8:23, 27 “And he said,  Lord God of Israel,  there is no God like Thee, in heaven above,  or on the earth beneath,  who keepest covenant in mercy with Thy servants that walk before Thee with all their heart:  

                              But will God indeed dwell on the earth?  Behold,  the heaven and heaven of heavens can not contain Thee;  how much less this house that I have builded?”

Simply:  the Most High dwells not in temples made with hands, but in the love and devotion of His people’s hearts.

Stephen wanted his brethren to remember their God, not their heritage.

He had not blasphemed Moses or the Law,  but was a servant of the Lord of both,  Jesus Christ.

So the conclusion of his message? 

God’s grace had chosen them as His people.   

God’s grace had chosen and sent men to save and lead them, into all God wanted for them.

But how did the people react?

Which of the prophets had not been persecuted by their fathers, which had told them of the Messiah to come?

All this is leading toward one goal….that Jesus was the Messiah, Who had come to show the way into the Kingdom of God, by Himself, as their King.

He was the One whom all the prophets spoke.

He was the One to whom all the other of God’s choices, pointed.

What would they do with Him now,  that He was risen and manifested by the Holy Ghost among them?

Stephen wanted his brethren to see that God was even then dealing with them.

He wanted them to acknowledge God’s choice…..Jesus, Whom  they betrayed and murdered…and that He is now at the right hand of God, the place of power.

The Spirit of God was leading many  in Jerusalem to salvation…..God was giving them another sign of His love to them. 

Would they hear it?

(How many today, hang on to tradition;  even Christian tradition, rather than being gathered to the Lord God, Himself.)

Yet even as Stephen spoke,  he sensed in the Spirit the hardening of their hearts….

So he openly rebukes it, and faithfully deals with them for their rebellion against the “Just One”.

The name: Just One, implies Christ Jesus’s holiness and righteousness.  He did not deserve to be crucified.    He deserved to be King, both of His people and the world.

He was and is the Just One,  and the justifier of all who come to Him.

Romans 5:8-9 “But God commendeth His love toward us,  in that,  while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

                            Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.”

The outcome?

Their history they listened to;    but the rebuke, which might lead them to repentance and true salvation……they refused,…and in great anger.

Acts 7:54 “When they heard these things,  they were cut to the heart,  and they gnashed on him with their teeth.”

“Cut to the heart”

Stephen’s rebuke (rebuke means “back striking them into the right way”.  It is never pleasant to be rebuked….but to those who “hear it”….it gives life.)

Stephen’s rebuke opened to them the state of their own hearts,  like a knife.

And instead of letting it heal them, like a surgeon;  they let it unleash the anger within…which quickly turned to hatred of God’s servant.

He was unaffected for himself;  but totally immersed in the Will of God, for them.

God then blessed him with more of the Spirit of God, and a vision:

Acts 7:55-56 “But he,  being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven,  and saw the glory of God,  and Jesus standing on the right hand of God.

                          And said,  Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God.”

The council would not hear….stopping their ears, they dragged him out, and stoned him…as though that could stop his witness….No! (Remember Saul/Paul was witnessing all of this)

Acts 7:59-60 “And they stoned Stephen,  calling upon God,  and saying,  Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.

                          And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice,   Lord, lay not this sin to their charge.  And when he had said this,  he fell asleep.”

Stephen, with the same ruling peace (Philippians 4:7) with which he began;  he ends, looking unto Jesus for himself…

“Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”   Acknowledging before all, that the Lord Jesus Christ was the Son of God,  and risen, in heaven.

And then,  in the character of Jesus, he forgives those that stoned him.

“Lay not this sin” (yes, he called it what it was; but still asks…) 

“Lay not this sin to their charge.”

“He fell asleep”.   You see, when Christians die,  they are said to fall asleep.  For they close their eyes here, and in the next second,  open them in heaven.

Stephen was the first of the churches martyrs,  but not the last. 

Many have died,  looking to Jesus the same way.

Because He is the Son of God…because He lives,  we do and will, eternally, too.

True North on the Compass of Your Life.

Proverbs 29:18 “Where there is no vision,  the people perish:  but he that keepeth the law,  happy is he.”

There is, on the compass, a magnetic north,  which is not true North.

You can navigate with this, for short trips.

But when you have long trips over any length of time or of distance; you must be able to ascertain True North, or you will be off your point of destination, miles and miles.

We should all have a goal to which we are headed in life; and a way of getting there, which is not going to lead us astray.

That goal keeps our eyes focused on the real purpose of our existence.

As Christians,  our purpose of life, should come from the Lord:

 Ephesians 2:10. “For we are his workmanship,  created in Christ Jesus unto good works,  which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”

We are “created in Christ Jesus” or born again;  for a purpose.

Our purpose is to “walk” in the good works God appoints us, as individual Christians, to do.

We all have the “work” of manifesting Jesus Christ in our life.  His character should shine through us;  His peace, His gentleness, His love, and His determination to do the Father’s Will.

So what is the True North in this walk?

It is making Jesus Christ, Lord of your life, so that you will know what to do, and will be empowered to do, by His life, within you.

Making Him Lord means that we are His servants; obeying Him. 

We are His disciples; learning from Him and teaching what we have learned.

And we are His friends, walking with Him through this world, to the next.

John 7:17 “If any man will do His will,  he shall know of the doctrine,  whither it be of God,  or whither I speak of myself.”

Hosea 6:3 “Then shall we know,  if we follow on to know the Lord:  his going forth is prepared as the morning;  and he shall come unto us as the rain,  as the latter and former rain unto the earth.”

As certain as this old earth keeps turning,  there will be sunrise tomorrow.

You may not be able to see it, for there may be clouds and the day dark and dreary;  but the sun will be there.

This says that we can rest easy in Christ;  we can expect Him to show us His Way for us, and for Him to give us His blessings (the former and latter rains),  in the time we need them.

It also encourages us, to continue to follow Him. 

Psalm 42:8 “Yet the Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime,  and in the night His song shall be with me,  and my prayer unto the God of my life.”

Psalm 37:40 “And the Lord will help them, and deliver them:  He shall deliver them from the wicked,  and save them,  because they trust in Him.”

He knows where we should be, and how we are to get there.

In life,  in attitudes, and in troubles;  with Him as our Lord and Savior;  we shall know.

Our whole life is a journey. 

(I used to tell a friend, life is an adventure. They thought of “lions” and “tigers”;  and they were not happy about the thought.  But I think of going with a Great Guide into a world that changes all the time….and to me, that is an adventure.)

It is a journey of a life time.  

And, lets face it,  we need help;  we need a guide, who loves us, to get us to the end.

We are to “walk” from here to heaven, with Christ Jesus.

That is a daily walk with Him.

That is how we grow to know Him more.

True North on the compass of our lives,  is to make Him Lord of our lives.  

Then we will see His Purpose for our lives, done.

Then we will get to the end in peace.

The Narrowness of Self 

How narrow our life is,  if we exist for ourselves, alone.

Christ said:

Matthew 16:25 “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it:  and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.”

We lose our self-life,  that we might find our Christ life.

You find your Christ life as you, by deliberate acts of the will,  bring yourself into subjection to the principal of obedience,  which is God’s Principal.

Let us describe what our “self-life” is:

It is all the experiences you have had in your life (those we remember and those we don’t).

It is our thinking (this is shaped by our parents, our background, and the world we move around in:  If people around us hate something,  mostly likely we will, too)

It is our affections (the things we truly love, not what we pretend to care for: You may go out for tennis,  not because you love tennis, but because there is someone you see, at tennis practice, that you  “love”).

It is also your will.  It is the active part of yourself.  What you will to do, you will do.

All these are your self life.  You can easily see how they can be influenced (as a Christian) by the world, the devil,  as well as God.

Each of these powers exerts influence in your life.  Which you choose to yield to is the most important question you face each day.

Romans 6:16 “Know ye not,  that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey,  his servants ye are to whom ye obey:  whither of sin unto death,  or of obedience unto righteousness?”

We lose our self life, little by little, until you are an expression of God’s Will, no matter where you are, or what you are doing.

We will be defeated by the wiles of the Devil, in this, unless we keep before us always:  “For My Sake”.

We do this for Jesus sake.  This is the personal choice of our hearts, minds, and wills, for Him.

It is done, once, when we give ourselves to Christ, as Lord and King.

And it is done again and again as we walk through life, with Him.

“For Jesus sake”.   It should ever be our thought and desire.

Now, let us see how we are to lose our self-life:

First,  let us see how we shrink back into the narrowness of self, any time we are put into a trying position.

We are going along, denying self, when someone says something we take VERY personally about ourselves.

We then begin a series of steps, backing up, into the “safety” of our self. 

If we back up,  we start shutting doors, closing windows;  keeping out as much of what is being talked about as possible.

We may smile and even agree with what is being said;  but plainly we have shut ourselves up,  so we will not be hurt. 

We focus on something good we have done,  or something bad that person has done.  All the while we are smiling, and pretending we are really in the conversation.   But we are not.

This is seeking the narrowness of self.   It is a mechanism that most people employ at one time or another.

What they are thinking and saying inside is entirely different, than how they are acting outside.

But this is self.   And Christ says, if we are going to follow Him, we must deny self.

Matthew 16:24 “Then said Jesus unto his disciples,   If any man will come after me,  let him deny himself,  and take up his cross, and follow me.”

Will we?

It is a matter of the will,  willing with Christ.

And it is effort.  To find out His Will, and then to set aside our opinions about it, and do it:  “for His sake”.

Will we place ourselves in His pure Light, and see Reality?

You see, our memories, attitudes, and affections all play a part in our bringing ourselves to Christ.

They are all to be sanctified, or set aside to Him; one by one, as they start to hinder our walk with Him.

This requires us to see them as they are.   To stop hiding from the truth about ourselves, and bringing us,  the real us,  to Christ.

The old song, “Just as I am”,  is true.  

(It was, in fact, written because a person who felt that he could never be saved, was about to give up.   In a last ditch effort to know for himself whether God would save him,  he entered a church, and sat in the last row. 

He listened as the preacher was giving his message; when suddenly he stopped,  looked around,  then said:  “You come to Jesus, just as you are.”  Then he went back to his message.

The person was saved, just as he was, for that was what he needed to hear.)

God can not save the pretend you.  He saves you.   

And salvation is four-fold.

       He saves from self’s love of sin–conviction of the Holy Spirit.

       He saves from our guilt of sin–being born again.

       He saves from the power of sin and self–sanctification.

       He saves from the presence of sin–taking us to Heaven, when we die, or are raptured.

To come out from the narrowness of self,  you must want to get honest with yourself and God, tell Him the way you really feel, and listen to His reply.

If you are  ready for such a personal relationship, for His sake;  start talking with Him.

And expect an answer, for He will speak to all who will hear.

John 7:17 (N.A.S.) “If any man is willing to do His will, he shall know of the teaching, whether it is of God, or whether I speak from Myself.”

The Sieve of Preconceived Ideas 

We all know what a sieve is.   It lets somethings through,  while blocking others.

Well, the sieve of preconceived ideas,  is where we let some of what God is telling us through;  but blocking other things, because of an idea we had about what He was going to say.

How many of our children, turn us parents off?   Because they know what we are going to say,  and they just do not want to hear it again?

This is the sieve of preconceived ideas.

We think we know what God is talking to us about,  so we just sort of, stop listening along the way.

Well,  we can overcome this by the power of the Holy Spirit’s honesty.

He will enable us to see what is truth, but we have to will to see it.

There was a Pastor I knew once,  who used to say to his wife,  when they would disagree,   “I will accept the correction.”

Sounds good,  but it still places the parties at distance points;  not together.

Acceptance is not yielding;  but simply acknowledging another’s viewpoint.

No reconciliation there.

But “I will submit to the correction.” ;  as we should do to God,   brings us into the reconciliation to Him,  that we need.

When we are reconciled to God,  we are placed in that position to receive full power from Him.   We are again sitting next to Him,  holding hands.

Reconciliation makes us “partners” again.   (That is what it means in the Greek)

If we are simply accepting His word,  we can still be far from Him, and not receive the power He wants to give us.   

Ok,  fine,  whatever;  is really what it sounds like to God.

There must be an absolute surrender to Christ Jesus as Lord.

Then,  there can be many reconciliations  to  His Word.  And when we are, there will be more power in my life now.

We will know His will and be enabled to do His Will,  that we might be blessed in His Will.

Matthew 16:5 “And when his disciples were come to the other side,  they had forgotten to take bread.”

This sets up an example of preconceived ideas getting in the way of our hearing what Jesus really is saying to us.

Matthew 16:6-7 “And Jesus said unto them,   Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.

                              And they reasoned among themselves, saying,    It is because we have taken no bread.”

They were afraid Jesus was correcting them because they forgot to bring food for the trip across the sea.

But Jesus was not concerned about food.    Had He not fed five thousand with a few loaves of bread and a few fishes?

Matthew 16:8,11-12. “Which when Jesus perceived,  he said unto them,   Oh ye of little faith,  why reason ye among yourselves,  because ye have no bread?

                               How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread,    that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees?

                               Then understood they how that he bade them not beware the leaven of the bread,  but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.”

Leaven was always in a bad connotation in the scriptures.  It took substance and filled it with holes full of air.

(Now I love leavened bread,  but when it comes to the Bible,  leaven was making flour and water look larger than it was,  bigger than it was.  In other words it was a picture of hypocrisy.)

The disciples were not really listening,  because as soon as Jesus started to speak about leaven…they thought of their mistake in not bringing bread.

How often we are the same.   The Lord try’s to speak to us in a message or Bible teaching,  and we are worried about this, 

or thinking ahead to that.

Jesus wants us to understand all that He has for us,  to come as close as we can.

Christ Jesus will lift us up,  enlighten our path,  give us courage,  and so much more;   But we must draw near,  and hear Him.

Giving up our preconceived ideas;  and really hear what He is saying to us.

There is so much He wants to give us,  so much we need to receive;  let us come close by yielding to Him,  and hear.

Jesus Forgave us;  we should Forgive

Matthew 6:12 “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.”

Matthew 6:14-15 “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you:

                                 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

I can never acquire that which I am to be finally, if I fail to pass through those experiences that must lead to it;  acquiring now,  to a degree;  that which I will be fully then.

For the Christian, that means going into all situations, with Him.

Luke 22:40-41, 45-46 “And when He was at the place,  He said unto them,   Pray that ye enter not into temptation.

                             And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down,  and prayed,

                             And when He rose up from prayer,  and was come to His 

disciples,  He found them sleeping for sorrow,  

                             And said unto them,  Why sleep ye?  Rise and pray,  lest ye enter into temptation.”

They were sleeping for sorrow….you know how when you are really sad, you become so tired…it wears you out.   

So with them:  they had heard how He was going away,  and became so sad, that they became sleepy. 

They had been told to “watch”,  but they fell asleep.   They could not even watch with the Lord one hour.

If they had watched,  they would have been prepared for His arrest…and trial…and crucifixion.     But they slept because of fear, and sadness;  and ran away when faced with the next trial.

We think of power (and the Lord has it for us in the Holy Spirit),  but the Lord looks on devotion to Him, and obedience to the way He has chosen for us,   as the manifesting of real power.

In this, all the disciples failed.   But Jesus forgave them, even before they did it.

(Matthew 25:31-32)

Then Peter went on to deny the Lord,  but the Lord forgave him,  and restored him. (John 21:15-19)

Jesus has seen and does see our every failure as well.  And He has made full provision for us.  He has and does forgive us.

But what about us?  Do we forgive,  as He forgave us?  For as His disciples, He commands us to.

The trouble is…..

Self digs in, and hangs on to control with much force. (Whether it is fear, anger, jealousy, or self-conceit, pride….and there are a thousand emotions and thoughts which come to us.)

So it must always be a deliberate act of our will to deny ourselves, and yield to God, and do what He says.

A victorious Christian should not feel resentment.

Hebrews 12:15 “Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God;  lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;”

So when the Holy Spirit shows us that we are harboring resentment,   we should bring those resentments—the people, places, actions (both theirs and ours) to Christ.

How?

By the “artea” or force that is the Holy Spirit in your spirit, to get honest about it.   Yield to Him, and what He shows you….spread it out all before the Lord.

You see, when the Lord hears the honest telling about this resentment,  He begins to speak peace about it.   The hurt,  or pain,  or loss,  or thoughts of violence, retribution, or “turning your back” on that person;  is seen as He sees it.   

No, this is not the preachy “everything is going to be alright” stuff.  This is real forgiveness.  Real setting it right.

You say,  “It can’t be set right.  What happened to me affected me, and still does.”

Yes, some hurts are like shadows that follow you around.  Only sometimes breaking through into the emotions.

But God’s powerful “force” of forgiveness, heals.     Heals the wound, our emotions, and our thoughts about it all.

The Lord has shown me that, except for the time we are injured….and we are often….we do not need to suffer.   We can come to Him and receive His life.

I had a co-worker once that worked very hard at making me miserable.  Comments, taunts, and worse; were the things I put up with day by day….and for quite some time.

I was newly restored to the Lord, and tried to act right, even if he did not.  

But no matter my actions…his were the same.

Sometimes I thought I could not put up with it any more.  I wanted to deck him,  and show him that he had picked the wrong person to terrorize.

I started to imagine all sorts of bad things happening to him.  

And yes, as terrible as this is,  I really wanted him to hurt, as bad as I was.

I had prayed that the Lord would stop this man;  but He did not.

Why?   Because the Lord had something better for me.

Praying about it, the Lord showed me this man in front of me.  

All the terrible things he had done came rolling through my mind, and I wanted to…..to….

To what?   That is what the Lord asked me:   If you could do anything to this man,  with no consequences;   what would you do?

I started to say a few of the things I had imagined….but suddenly, I started to laugh.

That’s right,   I laughed.

I knew I would do nothing to him.     Right then I was joyful, and powerful…the Holy Spirit filling me up with laughter!

I knew freedom from this man,  from the situation….because of the power the Lord gave me,  then.

I laughed!  The man could say whatever he wanted, do whatever he wanted….he could not hurt me again.

I knew also that I could forgive him for anything he did and would do.  The Lord helped me, the Holy Spirit empowered me, and I had peace.

When we forgive,  the Holy Spirit rejoices our hearts.   His power uplifts us into a realm where we are victors,  we are overcomers,  we are healed.

We know joy and peace;  and most important,  His presence is like a light shining in a dark place!

This is what Jesus did to those men who crucified Him.  “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

This is power.  Real power in our lives;  for us to live in this world where offenses abound.   Real power for us to look our enemies in their faces, and see Jesus’ forgiveness.  Real power to forgive and put it behind you forever.

Living in Christ,  by Christ, and for Christ is never without real pain,  real hurt,  or real injury;   He never belittles our suffering (Psalm 56:8),  but remembers every slight done to us.  

One day He will wipe away all tears—there will be no hurts, then (Isaiah 25:8, Revelation 21:4),  but here in this life, He will also wipe them away,  if we let Him.

Paul’s last Message

2 Timothy 4:6 “For I am now ready to be offered,  and the time of my departure is at hand.”

Paul is in a Roman prison:  he has been sentenced to death.   He has a few things to say to Timothy,  who was like a son to him.  Instruction, and testimony.

But notice, when Paul talks about his soon execution,  he talks as if he were waiting on a train to take him away.  

And it is true.   The same second Paul’s body died, he was in heaven, meeting Jesus face to face.  Experiencing the beauty, rest, and love of God.

Paul speaks of being offered;  and he was offered on the altar of hate.  They wanted to be rid of this one who preached Christ,  even though he had done no wrong to the Roman state.

He had no one of importance to stand for him before Caesar.   And as he testified, all men forsook him;  no one stood up for him, because of fear of retaliation from the men around Caesar.

Yet Paul forgives them and asks God to forgive them, too.

2 Timothy 4:16-17 “At my first answer no man stood with me,  but all men forsook me:  I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge.

                                 Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me,   and strengthened me;  that by me the preaching might be fully known,  and that all the gentiles might hear:  and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.”

Paul writes Timothy, not just to notify him of his execution,  but to instruct him.

He lets him know that he is ready to go.  That he has finished the Purpose of God for his life.

2 Timothy 4:7 “I have fought a good fight,  I have finished my course,  I have kept the faith:”

Paul used these illustrations before,  when talking about his life as a preacher of the gospel.

1 Corinthians 9:26-27 “I therefore so run,  not as uncertainly;  so fight I,  not as one that beateth the air.

                                        But keep under my body,  and bring it in to subjection:  lest that by any means,  when I have preached to others,  I myself should be a castaway.”

As a runner in a race, he was to keep the goal of God in front of him, and finish what he started.  He was to preach salvation to all, and that they were to grow in the grace of God.   

And show them how to do it.

And he was a fighter.  He had real enemies,  he was not fighting the air.

His enemies were from within himself. 

We always need to resist sin.

And from without.  Many sought to kill him,  slander him,  and ruin the simple gospel message; yet he withstood them, often face to face.

But he had fought the good fight.   He had finished his course.

He had kept the faith.  The word “kept” here is “to guard from loss by keeping the eye upon”.

And he had instructed Timothy in his former letter to do the same:

1 Timothy 6:11-12 “But thou,  O man of God,  flee these things,  and follow after righteousness,  godliness,  faith,  love,  patience,  meekness.

                                 Fight the good fight of faith,  lay hold on eternal life,  wherein to thou art also called,  and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.”

Paul also looks forward to what God has promised:

2 Timothy 4:8 “Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day:….”

And if he had stopped there,  we would absolutely understand.   Paul had done many things,  suffered many things for Christ Jesus.

But he does not:

“…and not to me only,  but unto all them also that love his appearing.”

Any Christian, who loves the appearing of Christ Jesus,  will receive a crown of righteousness.

It is difficult, not to get wrapped up in this world.  It’s anger, greed, and vengeful spirit.   Then we forget to love Jesus, and stop looking to Him.  We don’t “keep” our faith active.

But Paul warns all of us to “fight the good fight of faith”.    And keep our eye on and guard our faith, which will always lead us on, with the Lord.

Yet, if we do love and wait for Him,  there is a crown waiting for us in heaven.

Paul’s last message, was one of instruction and testimony:

“If I, who once was an enemy of Jesus, can be saved and love Him through out my life; in good times, and bad:   So can you.   He stood with me,  and Jesus Christ will stand with you no matter what comes.”

The Good Samaritan 

We all know the story Jesus told here.  It was told to a man who wanted to “justify himself” or excuse himself from the responsibility of loving his neighbor.   He wanted to talk of high things,  religious things to other people, but to do what God wants for others,  he was quick to find an excuse:  Who is my neighbor?

Luke 10:30 “And Jesus answering said,   A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho,  and fell among thieves,  which striped him of his raiment,  and wounded him,  and departed,  leaving him half dead.”

Now this poor man who was robbed, was only half dead,  so there was hope for his recovery:    If he could get some help.

Luke 10:31 “And by chance there came down a certain priest that way;  and when he saw him,  he passed by on the other side.”

This priest was no help.  Although they were to offer sacrifices in the Temple;  they were to also help the people draw near to God in understanding and praise. 

Yet he did not take the opportunity to at least see if there was anything he could do spiritually for the man.   

After all the man was wounded, and maybe dying.

Instead, he walked to the other side of the road, and passed by.

Luke 10:32 “And likewise a Levite,  when he was at the place,  came and looked on him,  and passed by on the other side.”

This is worse:  the Levite came to the man,  looked on his misery, and said nothing.   No comfort, or questions.  He did not ask if he wanted him to contact his family,   nothing.

He just left.

Levites were to help the people who came to the Temple in any way they could.  They were the ones who could explain what God’s Word said for them to do, and would be the ones to help them.   But there was no spirit or action of help here.

He came,  looked at the man,  and left.    On the other side.

Luke 10:33 “But a certain Samaritan,  as he journeyed,  came where he was;  and when he saw him,  he had compassion on him,”

Finally, some compassion!    But wait!   This was a Samaritan.   

The Samaritans were half Jews,  and as such,  unclean to have fellowship with.

Some Samaritans resented this,  but this man did not worry who the wounded man was.       He just helped him.

And what help!  

Luke 10:34-35 “And went to him,  and bound up his wounds,  pouring in oil and wine,  and set him on his own beast,  and brought him to an inn,  and took care of him.

                          And on the morrow when he departed,  he took out two pence,  and gave them to the host,  and said unto him,   Take care of him:  and whatsoever  thou spendest more,  when I come again,  I will repay thee.”

He bound up his wounds,  taking his supplies to do so.   Taking time, in an unfriendly place (who knows whether the thieves would come back).

Then he placed him on his beast, and took him to a inn and took care of him through the night.

He then gave the inn-keeper money:  two days wages,  to care for him.

And promised to pay any other fee for caring for this man. 

The Samaritan did not know this man,  and if they had met on the streets of Jerusalem before this incident,  the man would probably have not even looked his way.

Yet he cared for him as if he were a brother.

Jesus turns to the lawyer, who wanted to justify himself:

Luke 10:36 “Which now of these three,  thinkest thou,  was neighbor unto him that fell among the thieves?”

The question was meant to awaken his heart to his own responsibility to others.

What would he answer?

Luke 10:37 “And he (the lawyer) said,  He that showed mercy on him….”

(Mercy here is kindness, brotherly kindness.    So he gave the right answer.  But if that is the answer,  what should he be doing!)

“…Then said Jesus unto him,    Go, and do thou likewise.”

You see, it is not just what we say, as Christians, that makes a difference.

It is what we do.

The Patience of God:  Come, let us Reason Together

Isaiah 1:18 “Come now,  and let us reason together,  saith the Lord:  though your sins be as scarlet,  they shall be as white as snow;  though they be red like crimson,  they shall be as wool.”

How patient the Lord is with us.

Talking to us, again and again.  

Sometimes, He deals with an individual for a long time before there is the rebuke or the chastening. 

Hebrews 12:5 “And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children,    My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord,  nor faint when thou art rebuked of Him:”

And it is all to get us into the way of peace.    It is very dangerous to be out of fellowship with our Lord.   This world is under the influence of our Adversary, the devil.  Our only safe refuge, here, is next to Jesus.

Sometimes, He sends messages, or people to say what we are refusing to listen to, from Him.

( I knew a lady, who had asked for some tracts from me.  My ministry led me down that way, at that time.  And she was interested in reading some of them.

So I brought several and gave them to her.

I had not noticed, but on the top was one on gossiping.   I did not know she had this problem,  and paid no attention to her reaction when I gave them to her.

Latter, she came up to me and asked me if I had given that tract to her on purpose. 

I told her, No, I just brought some for you to read.

Well, she then told me that she was a gossip.   And that the Lord had been dealing with her about it—but she had been trying to ignore it.

I told her I did not know that and if I had offended her,  I was sorry;  but if the Lord had spoken to her, that was between her and Him.

Then she smiled, and said,   Yes, she would need to get it set right with Him.)

Sometimes, He makes us feel the darkness of our turning from Him;  giving little hints of His light,  if we would just return to Him.

However He deals with us;  He does it out of love for us.  

“Come, let us…”

Isaiah 1:18 “Come now,  and let us reason together,  saith the Lord:  though your sins be as scarlet,  they shall be as white as snow;  though they be red like crimson,  they shall be as wool.”

This is not one-sided;  it is the believer and their Lord sitting down and reasoning together.

This is a reality that must be of the Holy Spirit sinking deep within your soul.

It requires honesty, to sit still, and tell the Lord why you do not want to do what He tells you. 

What is more important then His Will? 

And as we are honest with Him,  He will show us the truth about the whole thing.   Hallelujah,  what a Savior.  (Isn’t wonderful that He is always saving us from all that would hurt us!)

We are totally dependent upon Him: His light, power, grace, mercy, peace, and joy.    

But He is Almighty.  The Creator and Sustainer of everything.  He is able to help us in all that we come into.  

He says, 

“Come, let us reason together…”