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My Name is Victory!

8/28/2011

1 John 5:1-5
"Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world — our* faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God"

1 John 5:4-5 Eternal Life Means "Eternal Victory"!

According to 1 John 5:1-5, it is through the Son of God (Jesus Christ) that we are “over-comers” of this sinfilled world through our faith. Not only this but, we are victorious and over-comers because of our belief in Jesus Christ. Now, here's the good news! We are no longer condemned. We're no longer doomed and destined for a fiery hell or an even hotter lake of fire!, The reason is Apostle Paul said in Romans 8:1: There is now no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit., Every time a person confesses with their mouth the Lord Jesus as their personal Savior, and believe in their heart that God raised him from the dead, the Scriptures said you shall be saved! (Romans 10:9) The reason this is true is given in the tenth verse: For with the heart, man believes unto righteousness and with the mouth, confession is made unto salvation. Whenever you confessed Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, it had to come from your heart. Without the Holy Spirit, you cannot even declare who Jesus Christ is. The reason for that is the unsaved are "carnal minded". The Bible says in Romans 8:7" a carnal mind is emnity with God and in verse 8, it says: those that are in the flesh can't even please God!

Because of our salvation in Jesus Christ, we have been the "blessed assurance" that our lives will end in "total victory"! No wonder the song writer wrote: Blessed assurrance, Jesus is mine. Oh what a foretaste of Glory divine. Heir of salvation, purchased of God. Born of His Spirit washed in His Blood. This is my story, this is my song; I'm praising my Savior all the day long..

That why the Psalmist said in Psalms 27: 1-6: The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear...The Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid...when the wicked, even my enemies and foes when they come upon me to eat up my flesh they stumble and fell. Though a host shall encamp against me, my heart shall not fear, thaough war shall rise aginst me in this will I be confident ..That's why there is one thing that i desire and that will I seek after...that I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever and ever....You want ot know why? For in the time of touble HE shall hide me; in the secret of His tabernacle He shall hide me and He shall set me upon a rock and now shall my head be lifted up above my enemies round about me Therefore I will offer in His tabernacle...his church sacrifices of joy. As a matter of fact, I will sing praises unto the Lord!!

Thnk about it!  What greater victory can anyone have that can compare to knowing because you are saved and have been sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise that one day the day of your redemption, you will spend eternity with the same Lord that saved you, blood washed you and bought you with a price, paid the 'sin" debt for you by shedding His precious blood for you and me. Not only this but 1 Thessalonians 4: 16-17 tells us one day, Jesus is coming back to give all of us a "royal escort"to oue heavenly home. Some of us will rise from the graves, and some of us who are still alive at his coming will be privliged to be "changed" from "mortality to immortality" ; to pull off corruption and put on incorruption and be able to say what the Word say:Oh death, where is your sting and grave, where is your victory? better yet...to be able to say to both death and the grave I know what happened to you victory...I got it! I got the victory; in fact, my name is VICTORY!! "! that's my name Victory.I don't care what Satan says....I know who I am..God wrote me in His Holy plan....My name is Victory!

The hymn writer tells us in another "victory" song: When we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be.. When we all se Jesus...we'll sing and shout the victory...Well, I know you are wondering, what do we have victory over?

a.   Victory over all of our trials and tribulations. 1 John 5: 4- 5 tells us that we are “born” of God (through the new birth) and we have in the eyes of God overcome the world and the systems and govern this world (spiritual, political, social) because of our belief in Jesus Christ and through our faith in all that Jesus did on our behalf as the propitiation for our sins on the cross at Calvary.

b.   Victory over demonic forces and all the difficulties they caused in our lives. Romans 8: 35- 39 gives us all the things we face as believers and the fact that we are more than conquerors through Jesus Christ and because of this nothing will be able to separate us from God’s love with is shown in Jesus Christ.

c.   Victory over sin. Romans 6:6- 8 tells us that the “old man” is crucified with Christ (through Christ’s crucifixion on the cross) that the body of sin might be destroyed, thus we being saved should not no longer become enslaved again and serve sin. In the same manner, in Christ, we are freed from sin. So, because we too have been crucified with Jesus Christ, the promise from the Lord is we too shall live with him as well.

d.   Victory over death. In Romans 6: 9- 11, because death came by sin and we are no longer slaves to sin because of our relationship with Jesus Christ, that means death no longer has dominion over us. It means we are not under the penalty of sin which is death according to Romans 6:23. God granted us the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. This means that we must reconcile ourselves to be dead to sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ. In Gospel of John 5: 24 if we believe in Jesus Christ (as God’s Son and our Redeemer) not only do we have eternal life, but we also have “passed” from death to life and will not come into condemnation because of it.

e.   Victory in judgment. According to John 3:16- 18, Jesus said anyone who believes in him as the only begotten Son of God (including the redemptive work of Christ) will not perish (receive judgment of eternal death, that is, eternal separation from the presence of God by being cast in the Lake of Fire) but will have eternal life. God did not send Jesus into this world (the 1st time) as a judge who was to condemn the world, but as a redeemer and a savior to those who would believe in him. The unbelievers both living and dead are already under the judgment of eternal death because of their unbelief in Jesus Christ and will remain under it while they live as long as they remain unbelievers. Those who live and have gone from their unbelief to becoming believers in Jesus Christ no longer are under that condemnation, because they now believe in the only begotten Son of God, Jesus Christ and have transistioned from spiritual death to spiritual life in Christ Jesus.

f.    Victory over fear and despair by filling them with the Love of God. In the Gospel of John 14: 27, Jesus said that the remedy for fear and despair is the “peace” of God that he promised to give to us. It is this peace that comes from God that sanctifies us wholly and brings an inner feeling of serenity and even re-assurance in times of trouble. These feeling comes in handy because in this life Jesus also said that we would have tribulation, (John 16:33) but we are to be of good cheer because Jesus himself has already overcome the world. It is in this peace that we are justified in Christ.

g.   Victory over Satan and all demons. In Ephesians 6:11- 13, we are admonished by God through the Apostle Paul to put on the whole armor of God that we may be able to stand against the “wiles” of the Devil. We will become more and more victorious as we stand with and withstand in the armor of God. The armor of God is faith, salvation, The Holy Spirit and the Word of God, righteousness, truth, and the gospel of peace with constant and continued prayer. With the whole armor of God on, we are able to quench all of the fiery “dots” of the wicked as well as persevere, intercede for, and be watchful for all of the saints. The other reason these spirits are more victorious is because the Bible has identified all of the types of demons that we have war against on a constant basis. They are “powers”, “principalities”, “rulers of the darkness” of this world, “spiritual wickedness” in high places and Satan himself. When we become more resistant to Satan and these demons, through our constant growth and fellowship with Christ, the bible says that all of them will flee from us.

Victory in Jesus, My savior forever!

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Why Jesus Came!

8/28/2011

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1 John 1:3-4 Question: Why did Jesus come to this earth?

According tho the scriptures, Jesus came to earth so we can get to know God on a personal basis. John said in verse 3 that the believer’s fellowship is with God the Father and with Jesus Christ as well. Jesus came to have fellowship with us and as we accept him, we also accept God the Father. This means that we can establish a personal relationship with Christ and with God the Father through prayer, the study of the Bible and through the fellowship with other believers. The fact that John said “they” had a fellowship relationship with God the Father and with Jesus Christ lets us know in no uncertain terms that Jesus came not just to “declare” God, (John 1:18) but he came to let us know thatthe beliefs of every skeptics' that God is not approachable and is impersonal,is simply not true. We can in fact have real personal fellowship with God the Father and with Jesus too. Our fellowship with God and Christ comes by the indwelling of the Holy Ghost residingf in each believer and by intermingling with others in whom the Holy Spirit dwells in also. It is in our fellowship with God that John said that we were to experience "joy unspeakable and full of glory" in its fullest through our relationship and fellowship with Christ.

In John 15:11, Jesus himself tells us why he came to this earth. He came to earth that we could experience joy in its fullest. Because joy is divine, joy can only be obtained through the Holy Spirit imparting the joy of the Lord upon an individual. Jesus came that the inner person of a man or woman could experience gladness and gain the spiritual strength needed to rise above all circumstances.

In Galatians 3:16- 19 the Apostle Paul shared with us a “wish list” of things he prayed for the Galatian Church. This "wish list" sums up the personal relationship we can have with God on earth through Jesus Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit with us. In this relationship, we can know as much about God as we endeavor to know, which should cause a believer to become more compelled to draw nearer to God as he wishes to draw nearer to each of us. Those things are the following:

A. Inner strengthening and empowerment by the Holy Ghost
He prayed that the Holy Ghost would not only indwell a believer, but empower that person through the indwelling to live out the wishes of God (Christ) and be reflected in the personality of that individual. The spiritual enemies we face on a daily basis are too numerous for us to try to fight them with our given natural strength. The many jobs and assignments that God will give us along this journey require both inner strength as well as physical strength beyond the natural ability of man. In order to accomplish the race that has been set before us, we have to in faith look to Jesus Christ for the strength, courage and faith necessary to complete each goal. We must have both physical strength and divine strength.

B. Permanent residing of the Holy Ghost in the seat of Authority
The person allows the Holy Spirit to have permanent residence with their hearts
He prayed that the person would settle down and let the power of God (Holy Ghost) ground them in the love of Christ. Through "grounding", they would become steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the sovereign love of God while working the work of God while it is day.

C. Full knowledge of Christ
Paul prayed that the church would understand just how vast and encompassing the love of God really is. Because the love of God is from everlasting to eternity, we must as believers always attempt to grasp just how much God loves reaches and to whom it reaches out to. The height represents the love of God reaching from his very throne and returning back to his throne. The breadth represents that fact that God’s love is worldwide; global in its scope. The length of his love represents the eternal scope his love really has. This means that the length of his love extends from the eternal mission of Jesus Christ to the blessedness we will experience in his eternal glories. The depth of his love represents how far down his love reaches to save a fallen sinner in his lowest state, as well as exposing just how depraved the heart of fallen man really is and why man needed a Messiah in the first place.

D. Full knowledge of God’s love through Christ’s love
Paul wanted the church to know the love of God. He prayed that they would know the love of Jesus Christ because it is only through Jesus Christ that we can know God. Jesus said that no one could come to the Father but through him. In John 3: 16, we are made aware of just how much God really loved us. He loved us so much that he gave us Jesus Christ that through our belief in Jesus we can have eternal life. That is, through our belief in Jesus Christ and the sacrifice he made for us on the cross at Calvary, at the end of our life here on this earth, we can spend the rest of our life in eternity with God the Father.

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A "Committed" Christ-filled Life

8/24/2011

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Isaiah 6:8 -9a: Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I: Here am I; send me. And he said: Go and tell this people.....

There are at least 4 areas of our lives where we the children of God must show true committment:

I. The committment we make to God is a life of self denial. Jesus said in Matthew 16:24-26: "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, take up the cross and follow me". For whosoever will save his life shall lose it, but, whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same will save it. For, what is a man’s advantage if he gains the whole world and lose himself or be cast away?

God promises that if you will yield your "self" rights to Him, He will do whatever is best in your life to give you maximum fulfillment and spiritual maturity. Believe it or not, this means you can even have joy in the midst of problems, that is, if you believe that God hears you and will answer you when you call on him. He knows your requests, He knows your needs, and He is listening to you.

II. Our Committment to Jesus Christ "Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple"
(Luke 14:27).

There are many dedicated Christians who are willing to accept God's direction at any moment and surrender their jobs, homes, and comforts to accomplish their assigned tasks. However, they do not represent a majority within the Christian community.

In the US, we have an "Americanized standard" for Christian service that seemingly requires very little of us. It yields a sizable body of believers, many who never fully mature beyond just being saved. It obvious in God's discipleship plan that some adversity and self-denial are necessary ingredients for spiritual maturity. One has to wonder what Bible some Christians read if all they are willing to believe is promises of perfect health, unlimited success, and permanent residence at the location of their choice without equally accepting that in everyone's life, some "rain" must fall. It is a true saying: "Nothing will ever happen though you until....something has happened to you!" Commitment to the Lordship of Christ means that we must be willing to go where God desires us to go and when God determines we should go in order that we can best be utilized by him for the kingdom. There's a hymn that goes something like this: "I'll go where You want me to go, Dear Lord; I'll do what You want me to do."

The apostle Paul describes us as soldiers in God's army, and we are admonished not to get so caught up in the everyday affairs of this life that we take ourselves out of the battle.
Remember that in Ps 91 we read, "He will give His angels charge concerning you, to guard you in all your ways.

III. A Life Committed to Constant and Consistent PRAYER:

Pray without ceasing and be instant in prayer praying with and praying for people and for yourself. A life marked by daily answer to prayer is the proof of our spiritual maturity; that we have indeed attained to the true abiding in Christ; that our will is truly at one with God's will; that our faith has grown strong to see and take what God has prepared for us; that the Name of Christ and His nature have taken full possession of us; and that we have been found fit to take a place among those whom God admits to His counsels, and according to whose prayer He rules the world. These are they in whom something of man's original dignity hath been restored, in whom, as they abide in Christ, His power as the all-prevailing Intercessor can manifest itself, in whom the glory of His Name is shown forth. Prayer is very blessed; the answer is more blessed still, as the response from the Father that our prayer, our faith, our will are indeed as He would wish them to be.

IV. A life Committed to the Study of The Word of God

The Psalmist who wrote Psalms 1 put it in proper perspective: Blessed is the man that walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stand in the way of sinners nor sit in the seat of the scornful. But, his delight is in the law of the Lord and in his law he meditates day and night. The Psalmist said if we delight in the study of God's Holy Word, we weill be like a tree that is planted (stable and steadfast) by the rivers of waters. We will bring forth our fruit in our season, our leaves will not wither and whatever we do will be prosperous. We will not be like the ungodly who are like the chaff that the wind drives away. Jesus said: The Word of God is lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. We must depend upon the Word of God to guide us in every area of our lives. Be blessed and highly favored of God on th

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What does \"shall not inherit\" the Kingdom of God mean?

8/21/2011

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Galatians 5:16-21    " Inheritance of the Kingdom of God"
Does this refer to either those who have been saved, or those who are not yet saved?

    According to this passage of scripture, the “ultimate” judgment of the people who live according to the flesh and not walk in the Spirit of God is they will not inherit the Kingdom of God. The bible teaches clearly that un-regenerated (unsaved) man cannot please God in any way. All of the “works” of an un-regenerated man (according to Isaiah 64: 6) are like “filthy rags” in the view of God. Now according to the Word of God, there is no question (at least in my mind) that verse 21 in this passage does not refer to "the saved", but to those who are "unsaved". The “controversy” as to whether this passage of lost "inhertiance" refered to "the saved" as opposed to "the unsaved"  depends upon the right interpretration of what Apostle Paul wrote to the Galatian church as the apostle  addressed the moral and spiritual issues occuring within that church and in the churches in general. In general, Paul either wrote exhortations to members within the various church bodies, exhorting the members of these churches to continue in faith on the path that God had set for them through Jesus Christ, or he was in some way or another attempting to vindicate his ministry from the vicious criticism from Judaizers and other “religious” factions that staunchly stood against the Doctrine of the Grace of God he both preached and taught.

In 1 Corinthians 6:9- 11, Paul wrote the same warning to the church at Corinth. The “key” verse in this passage is verse 11. Paul said in that verse that the people whom he addressed in verses 9 and 10 were in God’s eyes “wicked”, and cannot inherit the Kingdom of God but, out of those who were wicked, he isolated a group of people in the Church at Corinth who were now converted in Jesus Christ, that were once wicked, but now in the" eyes" of Christ are now “washed”, sanctified, and justified in the name of Jesus. They were no longer considered in the eyes of God “wicked”. Paul taught that all changes come over the course of time (through sanctification) as we walk more in the Spirit of God and no longer live according to the flesh.

In Ephesians 5:5, Paul said in order to inherit the Kingdom of God, we have to become “imitators” of God, because as it was written, no idolater, no impure person, no sexually immoral person, no greedy, no foolish talking, or the like will inherit the kingdom of God. Paul furthers prove that those he spoke of were not saved by saying to the Church of Ephesus that they(in the Ephesian church) were at one time also living in darkness... TRANSLATE: they were at that time unsaved and living totally contrary to the Word of God. But now, because they embraced and accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior through faith after hearing the gospel, they were now “children of light”.

The passage (5:16-21) in the Book of Galatians addressed the same thing. When we live guided by the Spirit of God, all of those works of the flesh listed in this passage are things that we were either saved from or (because we are now saved) currently being systematically delivered from througfh the process of "Sanctification". If a person still live their personal life according to the flesh (the carnal mind), that person will continue to live in sin and will ultimately become completely morally and spiritually depraved unless they give their life to Jesus Christ. Paul further implied that a person who continued in these immoral and depraved acts can’t possible be saved. because he wrote to another church "if any one is truly in Jesus Christ, they are in fact a “new” creation! (2 Cor. 5:17) The old man has passed away (in the sense that the old carnal nature is not in control anymore) and God has in fact made them brand new (they are now controlled by the Holy Ghost). A person who’s saved no longer desires to actively continue to live a sinful life. An unsaved person will continue to sin and as stated earlier continue to get progressively worse.

The important thing to remember is....If a person truly has a change of heart, their behavior will change as well.
The other "important thing to remember is.... the phrase “ the Kingdom of God”refers to God’s sovereign reign in totality here on earth as well as in the heavens, especially in the coming dispensation of the "Ages of Ages" when Jesus will hand over all of the kingdom on earth to God the Father that God may be all and in all! Third, Paul identified “the Kingdom of God” as joy, peace and righteousness in the Holy Spirit.

There will come the time in the dispensation of the Ages of Ages when the heavens and the earth will be at total peace, the joy of the Lord will be upon all who submitted to him throughout the previous ages and accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. The "Righteousness of God" will be all that every child of God will know and experience in their life for all eternity. The “unsaved” who died never accepting Jesus Chris as Savior and Lord, who never committing their lives to the will and way of God, whether in the past, present or future dispensations before the advent of the Ages of Ages will never ever inherit this kingdom. This is equally as true in reference to the Paul’s meaning of the Kingdom of God. Anybody who refuses to walk in the Spirit of God and continues to walk in the flesh will not inherit this “kingdom” either. Until they do, they will never experience the "Joy of God", that "peace of God" which passes all understanding, nor will the "Righteousness of God" ever rest upon them.

In conclusion: in all three passages of scripture, the central message Paul conveyed to the church was every believer needed to walk in the Spirit of God because God is a spirit and true worship to God comes only by worshiping him in spirit and in truth. When we do so, we not only experience the Kingdom of God in "sanctified progression" like Paul spoke of (joy, peace, and righteousness) but, as we stay on the path and continue to walk in the Spirit of God, one day, when this life is over, we will live for all eternity in the Kingdom of God where everyone and everything will be at peace and in harmony with Jesus and God and God will be all and in all.

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Walking in the Light of the Lord

8/21/2011

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1John 4:1-9 "There's no Darkness in God"
Light, in the Scriptures is defined as the emblem of purity, truth, knowledge, prosperity, and happiness-as darkness is of the opposite. John said that "God is light" not the light, not a light, but light itself; that is, he is himself all light. God is the source and fountain of light in all worlds. He is perfectly pure, without any admixture of sin. He has all knowledge, with no admixture of ignorance on any subject. He is infinitely happy, with nothing to make him miserable. He is infinitely true, never stating or countenancing error; he is blessed in all his ways, never knowing the darkness of disappointment and adversity. What light is in the natural world, comparatively, God, the source of even material light, is in the spiritual world. God is the fountain of wisdom, purity, beauty, joy, and glory. Just like all material life and growth depend on light, in the same manner, so does all spiritual life and growth depend on God.

The “light” expression here is designed to affirm that God is absolutely perfect; that there is nothing in him which is in any way imperfect, or which would dim or mar the pure splendor of his character, not even as much as the smallest spot would on the sun. The language is probably designed to guard the mind from an error to which it is prone, that of charging God with being the Author of the sin and misery which exist on the earth; and the apostle seems to design to teach that whatever was the source of sin and misery, it was not in any sense to be charged on God. This doctrine that God is a pure light, John laid down as the substance of all that he had to teach; of all that he had learned from him who was made flesh. It is, in fact, the fountain of all just views of truth on the subject of religion, and all proper views of religion take their origin from this. In the Gospel of John 1:4- 9, The Apostle John lets us know that in Jesus, there was life, and this life was the “light” of men. The light of Jesus shone in the darkness of this world and the darkness that’s in this world could not understand his light. God even sent a “forerunner to Jesus, John the Baptist to bear witness; to testify about Jesus, the Light of the world that men might believe in him. John the Baptist knew that he was not the light and said so when he was asked by the religious leaders to identify himself. John the Baptist reaffirmed that Jesus gave light (eternal life) to all men who would believe in him.

This phrase means that by God’s very nature there is absolutely no darkness in his character. There cannot be any darkness because God is the very source of real wisdom, knowledge, holiness and happiness. There is no inkling of ignorance, sinfulness, imperfection or misery. God is light and this means that in God is everything purity is, knowledge will ever be, perfection and grace projects and truth personifies. In Galatians 5: 22- 23, God’s character is embodied in the “fruit of the Spirit. Each one of these fruit embodies the light of God. Darkness by its very definition is the opposite of light. Darkness represents everything imperfect, everything that brings misery, strife, sin and destruction. Darkness is error of perception and it distorts everything that comes through our senses on all levels: physical, psychological, as well as spiritually.

Remember: Man is imperfect. Man life is best described by Job: "A man that is born of a woman is of a few days and full of trouble"! Man's ways are not like God's ways and man's thoughts are not like God's thoughts. So, when a man or woman walk in their own perceptions, their own views of right and wrong, in their own will, and refuse the will of God and submission to the move and power of the Holy Spirit, they walk in darkness based upon their error of what they percieve of God. Satan distorts evereything that come through their senses both mind and body and spirit, and as you see in many instances, their lives become another tragic statistic of misery, strife, sin-ladened and ultimately, they are destroyed! Jesus came that you might have life and have life in abundance.....I beg of you....please walk in the illumination of the life of Jesus. God Bless and keep you......

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Committment to The Cause of Christ

8/12/2011

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Living a Life fully Committed to God

I point: Commitment to let go and let God Jesus said if any man will come after me, let him deny himself, take up the cross and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it, but, whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same will save it. For, what is a man’s advantage if he gains the whole world and lose himself or be cast away?

A life of self denial

God promises that if you will yield your rights to Him He will do whatever is best in your life to give you maximum fulfillment and spiritual maturity.

You can have joy in the midst of problems if you believe that God hears you. He knows your requests, He knows your needs, and He is listening to you.

II. point: Commitment to Lordship of Jesus Christ "Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple"
(Luke 14:27).

There are many dedicated Christians who are willing to accept God's direction at any moment and surrender their jobs, homes, and comforts to accomplish their assigned tasks. However, they do not represent a majority within the Christian community.

We have an Americanized standard for Christian service that requires very little of us. It yields a sizable body of believers who never mature.

It seems in God's discipleship plan that some adversity and self-denial are necessary ingredients for spiritual maturity. One has to wonder what Bible some Christians read that promises them perfect health, unlimited success, and permanent residence at the location of their choice. Certainly it's not the one that gave us the Scripture verse for today.

A commitment to the Lordship of Christ means that we must be willing to go where and when God determines we can best be utilized. There's a hymn that goes something like this: "I'll go where You want me to go, Dear Lord; I'll do what You want me to do."

The apostle Paul describes us as soldiers in God's army, and we are admonished not to get so caught up in the everyday affairs of this life that we take ourselves out of the battle.

Remember that in Ps 91 we read, "He will give His angels charge concerning you, to guard you in all your ways.

God expects every believer in the Christian faith to grow and mature in the faith.. He has provided 3 "essentials" for a person to achieve this.

A. Every person must have knowlwdge of God. This requires that person to study the Bible fervently to gain true and factual insight concerning God's attributes and the way God operates in the lives and daily affairs of the human race. 2 Timothy 2:15 tells us to Study to show ourselves approved unto God. From our study efforts, we learn how to establish a better personal relationship with God, find out what his will is for each person and dilligently persue him in our quest to carry out that established will. When we dilligently seek him, the more intimate and personal our relationship with Jehovah will develop and be realized.

B. Every person must rely on the Holy Spirit to reveal ther "oracles" of God to them.The person must develop a fierce hunger and thirst after the "righteousness" of God. Jesus said in John chapter 14 that the Holy Spirit's purpose was to guide us toward all truths concerning Jesus Christ our Messiah. The Bible said that anyone who hungers and thirst after God's righteousness shall be filled.

C. Every person must strive to obtain the Spirit of Wisdom so they can get a firm understanding of who God really is and how we are to relate to him. Jesus said in order to worship God the correct way, we must worship him "in spirit" and "in truth".

In a nutshell, in the quest to to grow as a Christian, the individual must seek out true wisdom that can only come from God more than they would seek anything else in this world. In essence, their heart must be open to the light of God in order to grasp spiritual illumination that will be revealed to them by the Holy Ghost as they seek God through prayer and study the Word of God.

Rev. William Edward Boddie

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The Call For True Ministers

8/9/2011

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I wrote this article and posted it at www. Whole-Listic-christian-ministries.org

But since I am in the process of moving my Pastor's Corner here to God's Word In Exposition I thought I would do a reprint here:-)

The calling into the Gospel ministry comes with it the greatest responsibility that can be bestowed upon anyone in this entire world. There are several reasons for this, but the first and foremost reason is the “call” of a minister does not come by man, just going to a bible school or seminary or by man made means, but the true call to ministry comes from Jehovah God, the Sovereign Majesty of the Universe. Because of this, your calling into the ministry should aways be taken as a “living” calling and a “high” calling from the true and living God. God is the only one that can make your ministry effective. Unfortunately, we live in a society where too many ministers take that call for granted, resulting in countless lives marred by misinformation, false preaching, ministers with little or no integrity causing a growing "black eye" on the ministry, the "institution" church and ministers in general. I invite you to take time to read the article that was written on the calling of true ministers and what it takes to really minister. I ask for your constructive feedback.

God said in Jeremiah 3:15 "I will give you pastors after my own heart who shall feed you with knowledge. and understanding. God alone chooses ministers and their area of ministry. In Isaiah 43:10-11, Isaiah said that God chose us to be his witnesses and servants. In order to start out right in ministry, we must get to know God personally. We must learn how to trust and believe in him completely. We must realize that there never was and never will be any other God but him or like him because HE alone is GOD and Jesus the "only" Savior that we will ever have!

God said in Amos 7: 14- 15 that no true man of God called himself to this ministry. Using the call of Amos for an example, Amos was a herdsman and a dresser of figs trees and a gatherer of figs when God called him to be a prophet. From this, we can see that God calls people from all walks of life, wherever you were socially or professionally. God called us to proclaim his "living" word to a "dying" world. God never intended that any one should die eternally but everybody would repent and accept Jesus Christ as their Messiah and live in eternity. The purpose of our call then mirrors that of John the Baptist, who as a forerunner proclaimed the coming of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world..The difference is, John proclaimed his first coming. We proclaim that he has already come, gone to Calvary, was hung on a cross to die for our sins, then buried in Joseph of Arrmithea's new tomb, and on early sunday morning, HE AROSE with all power in his hands, ascended to heaven and soon one day promises to return back to earth for his people dead or alive to carry them home to be with him for all eternity.

In John 1: 6- 8, John was sent by God to testify and to witness about Jesus. John was not the “light” but a "witness bearer" of the "Light" (Jesus).

This brings out 2 important things every minister must remember: First, we must remember no matter how popular we may become or how gifted we are, we are not the "light". Secondly, we are witness for Jesus Christ. Even though we may minister locally, our ministry is in reality global. Global, because as we spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ in and from our locality, The people who are saved because of our witnessing will be compelled to spread the same good news about Jesus wherever they go. In 1 Timothy 1: 11- 12, Paul reminded Timothy that we have been entrusted with the Gospel and empowered (given the strength and ability) to carry out the work because God had judged us and counted us faithful and trustworthy to be stewards of His sacred word. Finally, the Holy Spirit plays an equally important role in the calling or a minister as well as the conversion of an individual. In Acts 20: 28, Paul told us that the Holy Spirit made us “overseers” and in this, the Holy Spirit guides the minister in feeding and shepherding the flock, (church) reminding them that they were “purchased” by the blood of Jesus Christ. Because of this, we are to take heed and be watchful with constant prayer for ravenous spiritual wolves trying to infiltrate and destroy the flock, taking no prisoners. For this reason, we are not afforded to take our calling lightly. It's imperative that we walk worthy of our calling for God said “Be ye holy for I am holy!”

In these times of unrest and uncertainty, God is calling on true ministers to come forth and stand forth, clothed from head to toe in the armor of God (Ephesians 6:11-18) and preach, teach and reach the lost, the hopeless and the helpless with the uncompromised gospel (good news) of the saving power of Jesus Christ!

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