Truth in HD April 2012

8/2/2019 Truth in HD April 2012

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Truth in HD

Volume 2, Issue 4

I am continuallyintrigued by the firstchapter of Johns gos-pel. Every time I think Ihave a handle on it Godreveals new meaning inthe statement, In thebeginning was theWord Johns ac-count went much fur-ther than simply tellingus about Jesus. From

the opening statementof the book John carriesus into eternity past toshow us the active roleof Jesus Christ in theworld around us.

God, the Son,who was active in crea-tion and in His redemp-tive work continues to

act among us today.Notice verse 5 of theaccount. And the lightshines in the darkness,and the darkness did notcomprehend it. This isnot something thatteaches only about thedirect ministry of Christduring His 33 years on

earth. It says that thelight SHINES in thedarkness. Thats pre-sent tense. Jesus Christis active in the worldtoday. Through thework of the Holy Spirit

Jesus continue to live inrelationship with Hispeople. As the songsays, He walks withme and He talks with

me, and He tells me Iam His own Whenthe Word became fleshand dwelt among us itwas not simply an iso-lated occurrence. JesusChrist came into theworld to work in usand through us. Hecontinues that worktoday.

Sometimes itseasy to look at the Bibleas a collection of storiesof things that have hap-pened in the past. Wethink of all the miraclesthat God did on behalfof His people in an agethat is forever past.

April 2012

Revival 2Under the Surface 4Holiness andRedemption 6Time is of theEssence 8Overtaken WithBlessing 10

Inside this issue:

That, however, is notthe case. John confi-dently states in the firstfew verses of his gospelthat the light SHINESin the darkness. Canwe be confident of thatface? It is importantthat we spend sometime once in awhilelooking around us tosee the light of Christ

shine out in the dark-ened world around us.It is also important thatwe allow His light toshine THROUGH ourlives. Jesus is not pre-sent on earth today inbodily, human form.But His body is here.Paul teaches us that thechurch is the body of

Christ. The Bible saysthat His light shines. Ifit is to shine around us,it will have to first shinethrough us. Jesus is ac-tive in the world today.Is He active throughyou?

Upcoming SolemnAssembliesMay 20July 15September 16November 18

Gatherings are scheduled

to be held at the Brookville

Church of God and will

begin at 6:30. All are wel-

come to attend.


2/14

The seasons amaze me aseach one unfolds before our eyes.

Even though cold weather seemsunbearable, occasionally the Winteris beautiful. Winter always buildsmy expectations for Spring and thebeginning ofgrowth in Nature.Summer sunshineand outdoor ac-tivities are alwaysgreat and Fallwith its brilliantcolors is a wonder

to behold. Theseasons and theearth are oftenused to illustratethe spiritual life,and seasons weencounter.

Jesustaught us that ourhearts are like soiland the conditiondetermines our

receptivity to theseed of the gospel. Wesley called thebeginning of salvation preventinggrace, the grace that comes beforepreparing the soil of the heart. Wes-ley described the work this way,"The first wish to please God, thefirst dawn of light concerning hiswill, and the first slight transientconviction of having sinned againstHim. All of these imply some ten-dency toward life; some degree of

salvation; the beginning of a deliver-ance from a blind, unfeeling heart,quite insensible of God and thethings of God." (Pg 509, v 6, Works)

Winter freezes the earth sol-id and in that condition the earthcannot receive a seed. It would onlylay on the surface and be blownaround in the wind.

The hard surface of the heart

separated from God is like the frozenearth. When God's grace touches the

frozen heart, it is being prepared forthe seed. Without God's grace bring-ing to us a Springtime opportunity,we would remain in that frozen con-

dition and nevercome to a mo-ment of deci-sion.

Thespirit once re-deemed criesout for more,

wanting a lifeexperience thattouches deeperthan we firstimagined evenpossible. Ephe-sians 3:19, "Andto know the loveof Christ thatsurpassesknowledge, thatyou may be

filled with allthe fullness of God." Adam Clarkecomments on this verse, "And aswhat God fills, neither sin nor Satancan fill; consequently, it implies thatthe soul shall be emptied of sin, thatsin shall neither have dominion overit, nor a being in it. It is impossiblefor us to understand these words ina lower sense than this." (Clarke'sCommentary, Vol. VI, Pg. 449)

The heart unfrozen and

saved is prepared for more in theexperience of God than we first im-agined possible. To be forgiven andknow the record with God iscleaned is in itself amazing andthen to hear there is more, but that'sexactly what God wants us to real-ize. Here Dr. Dennis Kinlaw states,"We come face-to-face with our(and his Christ's) greatest enemy,

the carnal self-will." (Pg. 105, Preach-ing In the Spirit) It's not popular to

talk about something like our selfish-ness but it is needful if we reallywant to experience the power of Godreleased in our lives and our Church-es.

What then should we belooking for as we walk with God?

John Wesley said this, "Strongly andexplicitly exhort all believers to 'goon to perfection.'" (Pg. 328, Vol. VIII,Works)

Some argue that there isnothing beyond saving grace, that allis experienced in this one encounter.Mr. Wesley mentioned that the Pa-pists say, "This cannot be attained tillwe have been refined by the fire ofpurgatory. The Calvinists say,Nay, it will be attained as soon asthe soul and body part." The oldMethodists say, "It may be attainedbefore we die: A moment after is toolate." Destroy this hope and that sal-vation stands still, or, rather, decreas-es daily. Therefore whoever couldadvance the gradual change in be-lievers should strongly insist on theinstantaneous." (Pgs. 328-329, Vol.VIII, Works)

Page 2 Newsletter Title

The Heard surface of the heart sepa-

rated from God is like the frozen earth.


3/14

We are really talking thenabout God doing a deep secondwork of grace in us, one that dealswith our own self will and bringsour spirit under the very Spirit ofGod! George Matheson wrote in hishymn;

"Make me a captive LordAnd I shall be free."

Matheson, like Wesley, saw that sal-

vation from self-centeredness is asmuch of God's grace as is the for-giveness of sins. He saw that thegreater bondage is not to sin but toan uncleansed self, turned upon it-self, His heart cries for true and fullfreedom, the freedom of the sins ofGod. (Pg. 107 Kinlaw, Preaching Inthe Spirit)

H. M Riggle wrote in a pam-phlet in 1900, the Two Works ofGrace, "Perfection, as applied to re-

deemed souls, denotes the completemoral restoration of man from theeffects of the fall. It is the state of be-ing free from sin." (Pg. 8) Kenneth

Jones said it this way, "Yet there is anew and deeper relationship withGod is established in entire sanctifi-cation. God is able to do more in andthrough the person as that person isfully yielded to God and submits tothe work of the Spirit." (Pg. 235, The-ology of Holiness and Love)

Sometimes we only see thework of God as a joyful thing but thereality of selfishness is that when weknow we must relinquish control ofour lives to God in fullness, self willresist and rationalizes why every-

thing is just fine and we are OK justas we are.

Kinlaw put it this way, "A

Strongly and explicitly exhort all

believers to go on to perfection.

-

John Wesley

Caption describing picture or

graphic.

person does not easily die to self-control and sinful self-interest. One

cannot crucify himself; Christ mustcrucify him. But if Christ is to put thespikes in the self, we must be readyto consent--no matter how awkward-ly." (Pg. 109, Preaching In the Spirit)

While we have moved fromprevenient grace calling us to salva-tion, through salvation to grace call-ing us to sanctification. There is thecall of grace to a renewal when ourspiritual live become dry.

In his book titled Revival,Martyn Lloyd-Jones states the fol-lowing, "In a sense, of course, allpreaching should pro-mote revival, and it isonly as we, as Chris-tian people, under-stand the doctrines ofthe Christian faiththat we can even hopetruly to see the needof revival, and there-fore to pray forit." (Pg. 7)

Understanding that God'sgrace leads us to salvation andbrings us into the deepest relation-ship, sanctification, it is then we caneasily look around and see the needfor revival. By revival, we are talkingabout a move of God among Hispeople awakening them to the condi-tion of the Church as a whole bodyand that it needs an outpouring ofHis Spirit. When the Church comes

alive to the work of the Spirit of God,then the community around the

Church is affected also.

The work of God as under-stood in the Church of God is a workof power, God's power through HisSpirit alive in His Church. The worldis constantly changing. This isn't theworld my dad was born into and it'snot the world my grandchildren willultimately have to deal with, but thehuman heart is still the same, stillprone to inward, selfish behaviorand still attempting to live as its own

god. The work of God, a great reviv-al, more of God, is needed todaymore than ever.

MartynLloyd-Jonescommented onthe passage inMark 9:28-29and the disci-ples problem,they could notcast the demon

out and Jesus directed them to pray-er. Jones stated, "We have got to real-ize that however great 'this kind' is,the power of God is infinitely great-er, that what we need is not moreknowledge, more understanding,more apologetics, more reconcilia-tion of philosophy and science andreligion, and all modern techniques--no, we need a power that can enterinto the souls of men and break themand smash them and humble them

and then make them anew." (Pg. 19)

Ephesians 3:20-21 calls us totrust the Lord to do more than wecan think, ask or imagine. Today isthe time to cry out for revival be-cause today we need it more thanever!

Page 3Volume 2, Issue 4

While we have moved from

prevenient grace calling us to

salvation, through salvation to grace

calling us to sanctification.


4/14

Have you ever tried to make

tidal wave in a foot of water? Doesnt

work, does it? Logically, if you are

going to make large wave you need

deep water. One of the most power-

ful sources of destruction, a tsunami,

cannot be simply created in a shal-

low kiddy pool! These enormous

waves are created by disturbances

below the surface of the ocean. Main-

ly, they are due to plate shifts and

earthquakes located deep down on

the oceans floor.

Before you start thinking I

am writing a paper for some geogra-

phy class, I

want to ex-

plain the sig-

nificant this

has to our

lives as Chris-

tians. Are

you as tiredas I am of the

lack of impact the church has on the

world around us? What if we could

make as big of an impact as the re-

cent tsunami in Japan did, large

enough to make it into newspaper

around the globe? What will it take?

It simple; we must start with a

mighty plate shift or earthquake

deep within our foundation.

Consider what lies under-

neath the surface of your life as a

Christian. Anyone can sing a song,

but how deep is their worship in the

midst of the noise? Anyone can heara powerful sermon, but to what ex-

tend will they go to live it out? But

be doers of the word, and not hearers

only, deceiving yourself (James 1:22).

The point of this is for you to consid-

er how deep your water goes and to

determine if it has enough depth to

create waves to impact the world.

Are you content splashing around in

a kiddy pool, or are you prepared to

go deeper than the seas with God?

Over the past few weeks,

God has been teaching me

three standards by which to

measure my own life; to insure

that I am growing deeper with

him, avoiding shallow Christi-

anity in my life. The first

standard I came across as I

read Exodus. Moses had just

finished getting instruction

from God to go get the Israelites out

of Pharaohs hands. Moses was to

make a request to Pharaoh allowing

all the people to go

out into the desert

to make sacrifice to

God. Pharaohs

response was,

Moses and Aaron,

why do you take thepeople away from

their work? Get back to your burdens

(Ex 5:4). Pharaoh could not under-

stand why the Israelites would need

to leave their hard work behind to

make sacrifices to God. In our own

personal lives, if we are to be a pow-

erful tidal wave in the world, we

may need to make sacrifices that willnot make any sense to people around

us. God may call us to give up

things or change the directions we

take so that He can use us and bless

us.

Sometimes in order to make

large or difficult sacrifices, we need

to be equipped with a courageous

spirit. Gods people those who

made a great impact - were neverwithout a courageous spirit to push

them beyond shoreline movements,

and dive into vast ocean waters. Paul

is always a won-

derful example to

look at when it

comes to courage.

If you have the

time, read Acts 13

and 14. They

returned to Lys-tra strengthening

the souls of the disciples, encouraging

them to continue in the faith, and saying


If we are to be a powerful tidal wave in

the world, we may need to make sacrifices

that will not make sense to people around us.

Gods peoplethose who made a great

impactwere never without a courageous

spirit to push them beyond shoreline

movements, and dive into vast ocean

waters .


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graphic.

that through many tribulations we must

enter the kingdom of God. (Act 14:21-

22) Courage was one of the charac-

teristics that truly defined the early

church, in the days of Paul. The first

Christians became an unstoppable

tsunami. Why? The world just didnt

know what to do with them. These

godly people feared no jail cell and

no persecution. They fearlessly

looked death in the eye. At this

point, people began to

realize no worldlyweapon would be effec-

tive against this tidal

wave. In the verses

above, it states that the-

se missionaries re-

turned to Lystra. This

was not Pauls first visit

to this place. In fact, his

first visit, you would

say, was pretty event-

ful. During His first

missionary journey to

Lystra the people

stoned him. He was so

badly beaten that those

Christians who came

with him thought he had died. Yet,

Paul survived, and he then went on

preaching in towns beyond Lystra.

Rather than seeking a safe place to

go, he went back to Lystra to checkon the Christians there. Can you im-

agine? He was excited to go back to

that town to encourage the Chris-

tians there, and he couldnt wait to

tell them how great it is to be a

Christian. Do we have that kind of

courage? The fact is, the same Spirit

that was in Paul, can, if we allow,

also be in us to

drive us to be

bold.

The last

standard God

has been laying

on my heart is having the faith to

stand out from the rest. This brings

me to events you can read in Daniel

(chapter 1 and chapter 6). After the

people of God had been taken cap-

tive by the Babylonians, Daniels

faith was tested. He wanted to re-

member God in all his actions and

manner of life. This is why he re-

quested to refrain from indulging in

the kings rich food. The willingness

to live outside the norm of life in this

pagan country is exactly what God

desired for Daniel. And he was

blessed. And again, when laws were

established restricting worshipping

anyone besides the king, Daniel

stood out as being a

loyal servant of God.

Sometimes we need

to resist cultural

norms in order to

stand up for God,

and other times we

need the faith to continue worship-

ping when the world around forbids

it. Both cases take a great deal of

trust in God, but they will not go

unnoticed by Him.

You will have putyourself in the most

humble position to

where God can create

an earthquake within

you.

The amazing thing

about tsunamis, as

scary and powerful as

they are, is that they

never come as just onewave during one mo-

ment in time. The

movement in the deep

creates a series of

waves that can come

very frequently for a

lasting period of time. The moment

you decide to let God shake you up

is the moment where you can influ-

ence others to do the same. One after

another, we can wash over the landsin rhythm with Gods movement.


Sometimes we need to resist cultural norms in

order to stand up for God, and other times

we need the faith to continue worshippingwhen the world around forbids it.

The moment you decide to let God shake you

up is the moment where you can influence

others to do the same. One after another,

we can wash over the lands in rhythm

with Gods movement .


6/14

"Consecrate to me every firstborn male.The first offspring of every womb among

the Israelites belongs to me, whetherman or animal." (Exodus 13:2 NIV)

In the Passover event here in Exodus,we have the first manifestation ofwhat redemption is, and from hereon, in the Scriptures, the wordholy is used more frequently. Godwas preparing the Hebrews to bedelivered from the grips of the bond-age of slavery that they had suffered

under the Egyptians for the past 400years and to be redeemed back toHimself. God's very first word tothem wasCONSECRATE (sanctify,set apart). In other words, God said,"Make holy or set apart to me all thefirstborn males......They are mine!"

The Wesleyan Bible Commentarysays:

The consecration of the

firstborn is based on the slaying ofthe firstborn of Egypt and the sim-ultaneous sparing of the firstborn ofIsrael. All the firstborn had been con-secrated to God, the Egyptiansby death, and the Israelites to life.

This is a great example of the typesand shadows of the Old Testament

and how it applies to us as a spirituallesson. The bondage the Israelites

suffered in Egypt is a type of thebondage that men and women expe-rience in a life of sin. The deliveranceof the Israelites into the PromisedLand is a type of our deliverancefrom the bondage of sin into freedomfrom sin. In other words, we are re-deemed from spiritual death andbondage from sin unto spiritual lifeand we are freed from the bondageof sin.

The Word of God reveals how God,through redemption, is the proprie-tor or the legal owner of His chosenones. It is one of the central thoughtsboth in redemption and in sanctifica-tion. In other words, God is revealing

through the redemption of the Israel-ites that they are his body, His cho-sen people. He is the proprietor overthem and thus the Israelites of theO.T. were, as God called them, Histreasured possession For you are apeople holy to the LORD your God. TheLORD your God has chosen you out ofall the peoples on the face of the earth tobe his people, his treasured possession.(Deu 7:6 NIV)

The Israelites of the Old Testamentare a type and shadow of the NewTestament Church, God's corporatebody here on earth. (Jesus) gave him-self for us to redeem us from all wicked-

ness and to purify for himself apeople that are his very own; eager to do

what is good. (Titus 2:14 NIV)

But you are a chosen people, a royalpriesthood, a holy nation, a people be-longing to God, that you may declare thepraises of him who called you out ofdarkness into his wonderful light (1 Pet2:9 NIV).

After centuries of slow and needfulpreparation, God now reveals Him-self as Redeemer. In a series ofmighty wonders, God proves Him-self as a conqueror of the Israelites'enemies, and then, with the blood ofthe Passover Lamb over their doors,God teaches what redemption is, notonly from an unjust oppressor here

on earth, (Pharaoh) but also from thebondage they were living in withrespect to slavery.

This Passover was seen by the Israel-ites as the transition from what wasseen and temporal to the unseen andspiritual, revealing God not only asthe Mighty One but as the Holy One,freeing them from not only the houseof bondage but also from the deathangel that was passing throughEgypt. Having redeemed them, Hetells them they are His own.


The bondage the Israelites suffered in Egyptis a type of the bondage that men and

women experience in a life of sin.

God is revealing through the redemption of

the Israelites that they are his body, His

chosen people.


7/14


graphic.

The purpose of redemption is pos-session (God possessing us), and thepurpose of possession is likeness toHim (who is redeemer and owner),and that likeness to Him is holiness,to which we are called after redemp-tion.

In regard to this holiness, and theway it is to be attained, as the resultof redemption, there are some les-sons to teach us the significance of

the sanctifying or setting apart of thefirstborn.

First, redemption and holiness areinseparable! Only redemption leadsto holiness. In other words, holiness,sanctification, or being set apart isreserved for the redeemed, thosewho have given their hearts to theLord Jesus Christ and have been re-deemed by the blood of the Lamb.

I pray for them. I am not praying for theworld, but for those you have given me,for they are yours. Sanctify them by thetruth; your word is truth. (John 17:9, 17NIV)

Paul addressed his letter to thechurch at Thessalonica To thechurch of the Thessalonians in God theFather and the Lord Jesus Christ: Graceand peace to you. (1 Th 1:1 NIV) That

would be those that were saved, andHe called fortheir sanctifica-tion.May Godhimself, the Godof peace, sanctifyyou through andthrough. Mayyour whole spirit,soul and body bekept blameless at

the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1Th 5:23 NIV) If one is seeking holi-

ness, one must abide in the clear andfull experience of being born-againand be owned and/or possessed byGod.

Redemption is often looked at from anegative perspective (i.e. deliveredfrom).Redemptions real glory is thepositive element, however, of beingredeemed unto. To be redeemed is tobe rescued from DEATH and saved

unto LIFE! The word rescue is de-fined as being extricated from an un-desirable state.

We are made alive unto Christ andare inheriting the riches of God's glo-

ry. Now if we are children, then we areheirs--heirs of God and co-heirs withChrist, if indeed we share in his suffer-ings in order that we may also share inhis glory. (Rom 8:17 NIV)

Secondly, only holiness brings theassurance and enjoyment of redemp-tion. Without holiness, there is noreal assurance of our salvation."Make every effort to live in peace with

all men and to be holy; without holinessno one will see theLord." (Heb 12:14NIV)

"Therefore, my dearfriends, as you havealways obeyed--notonly in my presence,but now much more in

my absence--continue to work out yoursalvation with fear and trembling," (Phil

2:12 NIV)

"And this is the testimony: God has giv-en us eternal life, and this life is in hisSon. He who has the Son has life; he whodoes not have the Son of God does nothave life." (1 John 5:11-12 NIV)

Who gives eternal life? God! Whereis eternal life found? In Jesus Christ!Who has eternal life? Whoever hasChrist! Who does not have eternallife? Whoever does not have Christ!

I am reminded of one of the Heritagehymns of the Church of God and thewords say this:

I will sing hallelujah fortheres joy in the Lord and He fills myheart with rapture as I rest on His

Word; I will trust in His promise I willshout I am free, in my blessed loving

Savior I have sweet victory.

There is joy in the Lord; there isjoy in the Lord. Hallelujah, glory, glorythere is joy in the Lord. There is joyin the Lord there is joy in the Lord. Hal-lelujah, glory, glorythere is joy in theLord.


May God himself, the God of peace,

sanctify you through and though. May your

whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless

at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

- 1 Thessalonians 5:23

To be redeemed is to be rescued from

DEATH and saved unto LIFE!


8/14

A few weeks ago I viewed a movie

entitled In Time, it was very inter-

esting and brought numerous

thoughts to mind, not new thoughts,

but reinforced old ones. In this mov-

ie they live in a world where the

amount of time they have left to live

is on their arm, the years, days,

hours, minutes and seconds. Instead

of having money they got paid, and

paid for goods with time. For in-

stance a cup of copy cost 4 minutes

and their work days paid them a dayor two, a bus ride to or from work

cost an hour and a half. All of the

banks were filled with time instead

of money, the elite had their own

special city to live in and had years

upon years. People fought for other

peoples time and would steal it

from each other

causing everyone

to keep their

arms covered so

no one but them-

selves could see

how much time they had. All of this

made me wondered just how differ-

ent our lives would be if our time

was written on our arm or we could

see just how much time we had left.

Would we be doing things the same?

When I was younger, proba-

bly 6-10th grade, I had a huge fear of

death. Not because I didnt know

God or didnt have a relationship

with him but it was a fear of not un-

derstanding it completely. So because

of this fear I would pray that God

would let me live

long enough to get

married and have

children. Well, I am

23 and God has

fulfilled both of

those, when youre

in high school youdont realize how

fast time goes by

until youre out and then you look

back and a good many years are

gone. But most people that young are

not thinking of dying to the point

where they are praying not to die,

they are thinking

that they are invin-

cible. I believe that it

is costing our chil-

dren and teens in

todays society.

They think Ill just have a few drinks

and drive home, nothing will happen

to me. Ill smoke pot or crack just a

few times, nothing will happen to me.

Ill put my relationship with God on

hold for a while so I can party, drink,

use foul language, hang out

with the cool crowd and dothe things God wouldnt really

approve of, Im not dying any-

time soon. They let Satan ques-

tion the reality of God and buy

into his sick lie that maybe

there really isnt a God, its all

just coincidence. Let me share a few

stories with you of young people

whose lives were cut short and they

never even knew it was going to

happen.

Ada Pentz,

17 years old. Ada

lived in upstate

New York with her

sister, she decided

to go on a bike ride

with her two

friends one day toNiagara Falls. They

made it up there

but on the way back Ada and anoth-

er girl were hit by a drunk driver.

That was the end. From what I un-

derstand Ada had strayed away

from God, probably with the think-

ing Im young, I wont die anytime

soon. Little did she know death was

just around the corner and she left no

time to get her life right with theLord.

Ashley Bryan, 8th grade stu-

dent. Ashley had a cold for a while

and missed a few days of school but

really wanted to go back after a few

days and was starting to feel better.

Shortly after school had started she

was in the library and collapsed. Life

was over for her. Thankfully Ashley

grew up in a Christian home and

loved the Lord with all of her heart.

Ashleys dad is a Pastor (but make

no mistake, having a father as a Pas-

tor puts you no further ahead than

anyone else) and she made sure to

have a relationship with God.


If time was written on our arm or we could

see just how much time we had left, would

we be doing things the same?


9/14


graphic.

Rachel Beckwith, 9 years old.

Rachel was a normal little girl full of

joy and love. It was time for her birth-day and the only thing she asked for

was that people donate money to a

website she started to help kids in oth-

er countries receive drinkable water.

She had her birthday and raised about

300 dollars. Two weeks after her birth-

day her family was going somewhere

and ended up in a 16 car pileup, Ra-

chel did not survive. When word

spread of her website for getting chil-

dren water people all over the world

began to donate and now has raised

three quarters of a million dollars. But

is that what gave Rachel a way into

heaven, the fact that she saved of

35,000 people from dying of dehydra-

tion? No, what put her into heaven

and eternity with Jesus Christ was her

relationship with Him, She had a heart

like his.

I could tell many more stories

of people who have died in our eyes,

way too young but wed be here all

day. Being in the ministry you tend to

see and hear about these tragic stories

a lot more, but I personally have

known many people whose lives were

shorter than what anyone expected.

From my 10th grade year of high school

until now there have been6 or 7 deaths of people that

I went to that school with.

So I guess what I want to

get across to not only our

young people, but every-

one is that TIME STOPS

FOR NO ONE!

James 4:13-17 says:

Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomor-

row we will go to this or that city, spend a

year there, carry on business and make

money." Why, you do not even know what

will happen tomorrow. What is your life?

You are a mist that appears for a little

while and then vanishes. Instead, you

ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we

will live and do this or that." As it is, you

boast and brag. All such boasting is evil.

Anyone, then, who knows the good he

ought to do and doesn't do it, sins.

Psalm 90:10 says:

The length of our days is seventy yearsor

eighty, if we have the strength; yet their

span is but trouble and sorrow, for they

quickly pass, and we fly away

We dont know what our life

holds and how much time we have.

Should we live in fear, walking around

afraid that the next minute or hour we

will be gone? Absolutely not! We are to

live every minute in step with Jesus

Christ, loving him with all of our being

and doing His will. If we really have apersonal, deep rela-

tionship with Jesus

Christ we have no

reason to fear because

we will see Him

when our time is

over. When you are

young you have a

fear of the unknown and when I

say that I mean your mind cant fully

grasp what death and thereafter willbe like. Even as adults we cant un-

derstand it completely but we

TRUST God and his word and be-

lieve it with all of our being. We are

to live every moment, not in fear, but

believing in God, trusting God, lov-

ing God and witnessing about God

and His love.

John 14:1-4 Let not your

hearts be troubled. Believe inGod; believe also in me. In my

Fathers house are many

rooms. If it were not so,

would I have told you that I go to pre-

pare a place for you? And if I go and

prepare a place for you, I will come again

and will take you to myself, that where I

am you may be also. And you know the

way to where I am going.

Romans 14:8 For if we live, we live to

the Lord, and if we die, we die to the

Lord. So then, whether we live or wheth-

er we die, we are the Lords.

Charles Spurgeon said: When the

time comes for you to die, you need

not be afraid, because death cannot

separate you from Gods love.


We are to live every minute in step with

Jesus Christ, loving him with all of our being

and doing His will.


10/14

And if you faithfully obey the voice ofthe Lord your God, being careful to do

all his commandments that I commandyou today, the Lord your God will setyou high above all the nations of theearth. And all these blessings shallcome upon you and overtake you, if youobey the voice of the Lord you God. -Deut. 28:1, 2

The Bible talks a lot aboutthe blessings of God. We read aboutthe ways that He wants to care forHis people and the things that Hewants to do in their lives. Our im-

aginations are captured by countlessstories of the miraculous, as Godworks for the good of His people inevery conceivable situation andthrough every imaginable tribula-tion. But too often those storiesseem like just that stories. Weread about them and think aboutwhat it must have been like to livein those days when God was work-ing. We are left to wonder if Godreally works like that today. Is it

still possible for His people to expe-rience the miraculous? Can that stillhappen in our lives?

Since most of us have neverseen the works that were done dur-ing the time of Moses or Elijah, orseen the visions of Ezekiel and Zech-ariah we just assume that Godsblessings are not what they used tobe. There was a time when Heshowed Himself in power, but that

time has come and gone. We arecontent to experience the limited

blessings we have seen and neverreally look for more. Our attitudeis to take what we can get and behappy with it in spite of the factthat Gods Word clearly promisesso much more for us. We arehappy with the occasional bless-ing rather than living like thepeople of Israel who entered thePromised Land and being OVER-TAKEN by the blessings of God.Consider that overtaken. We

are not just offered a few helpsalong the way to make this life alittle more comfortable. Godwants to consume every part ofour lives, to overtake our entirebeing and all that we are with Hispower and His provision. This iswhat God told His people as theyprepared to enter the land of Ca-naan and the desire of God re-mains today. I am the Lord I do not

change (Mal. 3:6).

The word blessingcomes from a root that literallymeans to show adoration. Justimagine that. God will set you high

above all the nations of the earth(verse 1). God wants to lift us upto the point that He will be seenthrough us. Thats how Godspower is seen in the world today.When His people rely on Hispower and God provides for alltheir needs the world will seewithout a doubt that even in aday when He is ignored, God is

on His throne. Science tries to ig-nore Him, philosophy explains

Him away, and even Christiansignore His commands but God isstill God and He still sits on Histhrone. God is still seen throughthose lives that put their faith inHim. But that is not enough, Hewants to be seen in EVERY LIFEthat claims His name. God willoverwhelm every doubt and fearwith His presence in the heartsand lives of His people.

We have allowed our-

selves to settle when it comes tothe blessings of God. His callcomes to us in some way and weare content to just stumble throughlife hoping that what we are doingfor Him might be good enough.The call of God, whether it is aspecific call on our lives or simplythe call to walk with Him, is NEV-ER a call to mediocrity. God doesnot want us to walk half-heartedlywith Him and spend our lifetime

struggling to keep up. He promis-es to provide for us, and if we willtrust Him we will find ourselvesliving in the ABUNDANCE of Hispromises. This doesnt mean wewill always be wealthy from aworldly perspective, but it doesmean that we will never be outsideof His presence. We will neverhave to go through a trial alone,and our finite power will never beinsufficient when His power and

glory drive our lives. Oh, howabundant is your goodness, which youhave stored up for those who fear youand worked for those who take refugein you, in the sight of the children ofmankind (Psalm 31:19)! Look at theexpectation of Gods answers toprayer:Answer me, O Lord, for yoursteadfast love is good; according toyour abundant mercy to me (Psalm


God wants to consume every part of our

lives, to overtake out entire being and all

that we are with His power and His

provision.


11/14


graphic.

69:16). And consider the promiseof Jesus Christ: The thief comes only

to steal and kill and destroy. I came

that they may have life and have itabundantly (John 10:10). Scripture,in its entirety, teaches that Gods

call is never to mediocrity. His callis always to abundance - abun-dance of power, and of mercy, loveand grace.

There is a fullness to lifethat we will never experience whenwe just hope for the occasionalblessing just to get by. We will nev-er experience the life that Godwants to give us unless we allowourselves to be OVERTAKEN byGods blessing. Christians spend

too much of the time worryingabout looking like fanatics to theworld around us to really see allthat God has for us. We dont wantpeople to accuse us of being nave,or taking our faith too far so wedont really want too many bless-ings. We dont want to look like weare that much different from theworld, or that God is such a promi-nent force in our lives, so we settlefor a life much like that of the

world. We just want a little bit ofGod and because of this desire thejudgment rings out from Scripture,because you are lukewarm, neither hotnor cold, I will vomit you out of Mymouth (Rev. 3:16).

This life to which God hascalled us may sound like excessiveChristianity. Like it will encompassevery part of our life and not just

what we are comfortable with. It

scares some because it sounds likewe would have to give up thecontrol that we have over ourlives (which is much more limitedthan we realize) to really experi-ence the blessings of God. We getthese feelings because they aretrue! It is when we turn every-thing over to the control of Godthat we experience the fullness oflife. That is when we see Himmove in power and experienceHis glory as it settles in ourhearts. Its easy to convince our-selves that this kind of life is justfor preachers or missionaries, butevery time we see God movethrough a mighty preacher or agreat missionary or teacher wemust remember that they wereonce lay people too. D.L. Moodywas never ordained in Christianministry but was one of the great-est preachers this country has ev-er known. Charles Finney was a

lawyer, Billy Sunday was a base-ball playerandMartynLloyd-

Jones stud-ied to be adoctor.These menwere just like most other menUNTIL they were overtaken byGod. When their lives were over-

taken they became mighty work-ers in Gods kingdom and soldiersin His army. But it was only be-cause they were willing to beovertaken. God will not do it byforce. It requires a consecration,or surrender, on our part. Con-sider what it took for the peopleof Israel in the Old Testament tobe overtaken by Gods blessing:

God told His people toFAITHFULLY obey His commands.He had given them the law and out-lined the details of the covenant Hemade with them. They had all theinformation they needed to live a lifein harmony with God, but they need-ed the faith to believe that Gods

commands were actually what wasbest for them. Without this faiththey would live in doubt about thewords God had spoken as well as theGod who had spoken to them. Thisis an example of what it means toenter the kingdom of God withchild-like faith. We must believein the power and the goodness andfaithfulness of the one who spokeand revealed Himself to us; the onewith whom we live in covenant.

The Bible reveals Godsword to us. It claims au-thority as His inspiredWord, and what we be-lieve ABOUT the Bible isimportant. We claim thatthe Bible is inerrant, orinfallible, we say that it isimportant to us and a nec-

essary part of our lives. But howmany of us live a life that showsthose statements to be true? Do we

really believe the Bible is that im-


The call of God, whether it is a specific call

on our lives or simply the call to walk with

Him, is NEVER a call to be mediocrity.

We must believe in the power and the

goodness and faithfulness of the one who

spoke and revealed Himself to us; the one

with whom we live in covenant.


12/14

portant? We claim its authority,but we seldom refer to it outside of

a Bible study or worship service. Ican count on one hand (and mightonly need three fingers) the numberof times I have been in meetingswhere decisions were made basedon something that was clearly seenin Scripture. How many people doyou know that even carry a Bible tomeetings (or even to church any-more for that matter)? Idont just do it becauseIm the pastor. My Bi-

ble goes to every meet-ing I have ever attend-ed. Its our rule andour guide. Its the inspired word ofGod and I trust what it teaches. Idont know how we continue to getby without it. If we are to be over-taken with blessing we must be-lieve once again that: no prophecy ofScripture comes from someones owninterpretation. For no prophecy wasever produced by the will of man, butmen spoke from God as they were car-ried along by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter1:20, 21).

But even believing in theauthority of Gods Word is notenough in itself to obtain the bless-ing and abundant life God haspromised us.

Our text did not just callthe people of Israel to have faith inthe Word, but to FAITHFULLYOBEY the Word of God. Thatmeans that the Word of God AP-

PLIES TO YOU! Sometimes peo-ple ask me after a sermon, Do I

really have to do that? I had justspent the last half hour or so read-ing Scripture that says they doand they still ask. Is it any won-der we dont see the blessings ofGod? We spend the majority ofour time trying to come up withreasons we dont have to do what

the Word ofGod teachesus. Would-nt our time

be betterspend tryingto discern

how we can be completely obedi-ent to the Word rather than howwe can get around it? Read on inthe 28th chapter of Deuteronomyand look at what God had to sayabout those who didnt obey theWord. When we spend our livestrying to ignore and explain awaythe Word of God we can expect

NOTHING MORE OR LESSTHAN THE JUDGMENT OFGOD!

God is not trying to keepsomething from us by requiringobedience. He does not want usto miss out on something good,but He has given us His Word tokeep us from a lifestyle that ROBSUS OF HIS BLESSINGS. Scripturereveals to us the way to walk withGod in holiness. It teaches us

what it means to live in His pres-ence and what His Holy characterrequires of us if we are to experi-ence a relationship with Him. Theonly way to be overtaken with theblessings of His presence is to livein accordance with what is taughtin the Word; to make every effortto conform our lives to what theBible teaches; to conform the

church and our congregation, andto make Scripture our foundation

and our rule of faith. In the path ofrighteousness is life, and in its path-way there is no death (Prov. 12:28).

Living in opposition to theWord separates us from God. Godwas represented by the people ofIsrael and is represented by Hischurch today. Moses was repeat-edly commanded to do all thatGod commanded. When theyworship, traveled, and even whenthey gathered food. God wasnttrying to oppress them, but to freethem from the things that stood inopposition to His presence. Thatswhat He is doing today in thechurch through His Word. Godwants us to experience His pres-ence and to be encompassed by Hisglory and blessing. We cannot ex-perience this without obedience tothe Word.

There is one more elementof this command to be faithfullyobedient that we must consider.God told the people to beCAREFUL to be obedient to thecommand. This might be the most

difficult part of this command tofollow, but it is completely neces-sary if we are to be overtaken bythe blessings of God. This impliesthat we must PUT SOMETHOUGHT into the way we live ifwe ever expect Gods blessings onour lives. We so often go about ourbusiness with little or no thought as


He has given us His Word to keep us from a

lifestyle that robs us of His blessings!


13/14

to whether or not the things we do

are worthy of Gods adoration (orblessing). We celebrate the holidaysof the world, and celebrate ourChristian holidays on the terms ofthe world. We just do what theworld does and live like the worldlives and it never occurs to us that

we

might be setting an example orsending a message to those aroundus that diminishes our witness of alife walking with God.

Consider the ways we en-tertain ourselves. Far too few of usreally do. Look at the televisionshows we watch the open portray-al of sin that we support and use toentertain ourselves. Just watch theshows that target the teenage audi-ence and you will see people jump-ing from one bed to another with

the same frequency they changetheir socks. Its not even enough

to view wicked and perverse rela-tionships among humans any-more, now we want to fantasizeabout relationships with vampiresand other-worldly creatures con-ceived in the minds of man. Andwe seldom stop to think aboutwhat this is doing to our relation-ship with others, and more im-portantly, our relationship withGod. We stumble around in thedark enjoying the sin that is so

belligerently and openly placedbefore us.

God has more for us thanto stumble through a thoughtlessexistence hoping in vain that wemight wander into His presence.God told Moses, I will dwell amongthe people of Israel and will be theirGod (Exodus 29:45). He told theprophet Jeremiah, I will give them aheart to know that I am the Lord, andthey shall be my people and I will be

their God, for they shall return to mewith their whole heart (Jer. 24:7). Hetold Ezekiel, I will give them oneheart, and a new spirit I will putwithin them I will remove the heartof stone from their flesh and give thema heart of flesh, that they may walk inmy statutes and keep my rules andobey them. And they shall be my peo-ple and I will be their God (Ezek.11:20, 21).

If God is willing to live

among us, give us His Word, em-power us to follow His Word, andtransform our lives in accordancewith the blessing of His Wordwould it really hurt us to putsome thought into the things wedo? Would it be so bad to consid-er our activities and hobbies andthe example we set in light ofwhat God has done and what he

wants to do in us?

The work of the churchin the world today is not contin-gent on another program or greatidea. It is not subject to our hu-man development of anothergreat mind from our seminar-ies. The work of God is subject tosubmission and surrender. Itwill be done as his people areovertaken by His blessings.When God permeates their heartand soul to the point that nothing

can be seen but Jesus Christ alonethrough our congregations. Thisis not some idealistic dream thatwe will never attain, it is the de-sire of God!

God will stop at nothingto bless His people. He was will-ing to continually forgivethroughout the Old Testament,even when His people turnedtheir backs on Him. He sacri-ficed His own Son just to show

us His love. Through the bloodof Christ, and the truth that wasrevealed we are cleansed andtransformed into a suitabledwelling place for Gods Spirit.And this Holy Spirit living insideof us revealing Gods powerand His glory through our lives -is what it means to be OVER-TAKEN by Gods blessings.Gods consuming blessings areavailable for us today. To eachone who is faithful, obedient, andcareful to live according to theWord the revelation of Himself God has given us.


We must put some thought into the way we

live if we ever expect Gods blessings on our

lives.


14/14

preach and teach this truth

with the hope that God will

bring revival to the church

and to our nation as His

truth is boldly proclaimed

and embraced by His peo-

ple. We hope that you will

join us in as we seek to walkwith God in all the light He

has given us.

My people are destroyed for

lack of knowledge; because you

have rejected knowledge, I reject

you from being a priest to me

(Hosea 4:6)

Our purpose is to lift up the

truth that God has revealed

to us through His Word. In

a world where truth seems

to become more relative

and subjective with each

passing day, we lift up the

objective rule of faith thatGod has given us. If we are

to approach the Holy God

of Heaven, Jehovah, we

must do so from the plat-

form of the truth that He

has given us in His Word.

Without apology we seek,

-Our intent is to circulate this publication entirely by email. If you

would like to receive The TruthIn HD on a monthly basis, please

email us at this address: [email protected]

-It is our desire to discuss the truth of Scripture openly. If you

have any questions or comments, please email us. (Only com-

ments deemed appropriate will be printed.)

-PLEASE FEEL FREE to produce as many copies of this publica-

tion as you would like. We encourage you to forward this by

email, and give copies to your friends.

-For further discussion on doctrinal topics, please see:

www.holinessreformation.blogspot.com

Nick Wilson

2479 Mercer Rd.

Stoneboro, PA 16153

(724) 376-3075

[email protected]

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