The Gift of Grace: Seldom Opened & Seldom Used

For centuries Christianity has been progressively reduced to a pie in the sky kind of idea with salvation being some kind of reward for being one of the good guys. Salvation is not a reward. Salvation is a gift given “by grace” and received “through faith.” Salvation is not a pie in the sky kind of thing either. Salvation is a present reality of a new existence “in Christ” that begins the moment a sinner receives God’s gift of grace “through faith.” Eternal life is much more than life that goes on forever and never ceases. Eternal life is a new kind of life lived in a new existence called “grace” that is part of a New Creation that begins the moment we repent, understand and believe the gospel, confess Jesus to be Jehovah, call on His Name to save us, and receive Him (the Christ-life) in the indwelling Holy Spirit of God. This new existence and New Creation moves the believer into a life of unlimited potential through the release of the creative power of God through us.

For the vast majority of professing Christians who are hoping for a pie in the sky reward for being good boys and girls, they will enter into eternity with a false hope only to discover they have been deceived by false teachers and have misplaced their faith in a “another gospel, which is not another.” That is a very sad reality to which every truly “born again” believer must try to correct by proclaiming the truth of the true Gospel that alone is the “power of God unto salvation.”

Those who are truly “born again” of the Spirit of God have received God’s gift of the New Creation “in Christ.” However, they too have been deceived into thinking that their salvation gift will not be opened unto them until after they die. Therefore, they presently possess a gift they have never opened. They have a new existence in a New Creation although they have never really lived in the intended supernatural spiritual dynamic of that new existence called grace. Until we understand the spiritual dynamic of our new existence “in Christ,” the gift of salvation, that is presently our possession, will remain unopened for all of our lifetimes. Because the gift remains unopened, our new lives “in Christ” will be wasted in fulfilling the purpose for which they are intended; i.e., to win souls and make disciples in order to bring glory to God through the fruit of His Spirit.

“¹ Therefore being {lit., having been} justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: ² By whom {Jesus Christ as our theanthropic High Priest at the right hand of the Father seated upon the Mercy Seat in Heaven} also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. ³ And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; ⁴ And patience, experience; and experience, hope: ⁵ And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us” (Romans 5:1-5).

Romans 5:1-5 gives us a look inside the gift of grace that we know as salvation. As we look inside the gift, we immediately see that there are many aspects that are ours that we would never realize unless we actually open the gift. Like the child that finds a bicycle on his birthday with a big bow on it, he is not excited about just having the bicycle. He is excited about what he will be able to do with the bicycle once he takes off the bow. Most truly “born again” Christians never get excited about their salvation because they have never opened the package to see what is theirs and never study the Scriptures to find out what they can actually do with the gift that is given to them in this New Creation. Notice five gifts within the gift of salvation (uniquely the number 5 is the number of grace).

1. “having been justified by faith

2. “we have peace with God”

3. “we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand”

4. “we glory in tribulations also”

5. “the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us”

From these five gifts within the gift of salvation, the Apostle Paul begins to open each of these gifts going through the rest of the Epistle to the Romans. As the next 11 chapters of Romans unfold, we find gifts of grace within gifts of grace within gifts of grace. This is also true of Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians.

“¹ Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus: ² Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. ³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: ⁴ According as he hath chosen us {the Church corporately as a new priesthood} in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: ⁵ Having predestinated us {the Church corporately as a new priesthood} unto the adoption of children {placement as adult sons positionally} by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, ⁶ To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein {in His grace} he hath made us accepted in the beloved. ⁷ In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;” (Ephesians 1:1-7).

God’s new priests are to be spiritual people. A spiritual person is a person filled with the Spirit of God and overflowing with the Christ-life because he is living in a right relationship with Christ (“abiding,” John 15:1-8). A person filled with the Spirit of God is a NORMAL Christian. Every Christian that is saved and not filled with the Spirit of God is an ABNORMAL or carnal Christian. Therefore, a fruitless Christian is an abnormal Christian who is not sanctified to the degree God intends him to be and not consecrated to the degree God intends him to be. It is not enough to merely control the externals, a person must be filled with the Spirit AND begin to live the Christ-life DOING what Christ commands.

“⁴ But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, ⁵ Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) ⁶ And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: ⁷ That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. ⁸ For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: ⁹ Not of works, lest any man should boast. ¹⁰ For we are his workmanship {in the New Creation of being “born again” and continuing in the supernatural enabling of the grace of God through the indwelling Holy Spirit}, created {referring to the new man that comes forth from the New Creation} in Christ Jesus unto {supernaturally enabled doing} good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them {these supernaturally enabled works of righteousness}” (Ephesians 2:4-10).

All the verbs in Ephesians verse 5 (“hath quickened,” “hath raised,” and “made us sit together”) are in the Aorist Tense, signifying something completed in the past with continuing results. These continuing results are the present and ongoing realities that are supposed to be part of the normal Spirit filled believer’s new life “in Christ.” The outcome of this supernaturally created new life in Christ is an ongoing work of creation through the Spirit filled believer in producing the fruit of “good works.” These “good works” manifest the Christ-life in the “fruit of the Spirit” and “the work of the ministry.” Again, this defines NORMAL Christianity. Anything less than this is ABNORMAL and is carnal Christianity. Paul then expands upon this context into what he says in Ephesians chapters 3 through 6. If you miss this context, you will miss the whole purpose of the next four chapters of the epistle to the Ephesians regarding the ministry of the Church and the New Priesthood of Christ. Paul uses himself as the model of God’s intent for all believer-priests in the New Covenant

“¹ For this cause {because we, the Church, “are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit,” Eph. 2:22} I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, ² If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward: ³ How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery {the New Creation and the supernatural enabling of the indwelling Holy Spirit}; (as I wrote afore in few words, ⁴ Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) ⁵ Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; ⁶ That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs {with the saved of true Israel}, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel: ⁷ Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power. ⁸ Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; ⁹ And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: ¹⁰ To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, ¹¹ According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: ¹² In whom {referring to the believer’s Spirit baptism into the “body of Christ” and “the regeneration”} we {all believers individually and corporately as the Church} have boldness and access {to God’s distribution center at His throne of grace; Heb. 4:16} with confidence by the faith {faithfulness or fidelity} of him {the resurrected/glorified theanthropic High Priest Who is Christ}. ¹³ Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory” (Ephesians 3:1-13).

If every believer truly lives in this new existence and spiritual dynamic that God calls “grace” (Rom. 5:2), why is it that we are not seeing the “fruit” that the early Church Age believers saw and that we see in various historical revivals of this spiritual dynamic throughout history. We do not see it because most local churches have accepted standards of holiness and separation from worldliness that are far below how the Word of God defines them. Most local churches do not see revival, and the “fruit” of that revival, because they are carnal to some degree and therefore defiled before God.

There are five commandments regarding the believer’s supernatural relationship with the Holy Spirit of God that are essential to the manifestation of the Christ-life through a believer’s life. If any one of these five commandments is broken regarding a believer’s relationship with the Holy Spirit in the least way, the believer is defiled before God and “fruit” to the glory of God cannot, and will not, be produced. Without the spiritual dynamic of the believer’s supernatural relationship with the Holy Spirit of God, “fellowship” (a working partnership in “the work of the ministry”) is never created, “abiding” (hypostatic unity) never takes place, and eternal spiritual “fruit” is never produced.

1. Be filled with the Spirit (Eph. 5:18)

2. Grieve not the Spirit (Eph. 4:30)

3. Quench not the Spirit (I Thess. 5:19)

4. Walk in the Spirit (Gal. 5:16 & 25)

5. Be transformed/transfigured (Rom. 12:2)

It is through the supernatural dynamic of the believer’s yielding to the indwelling Spirit of God that these five commandments are fulfilled in the life of a believer. These five commandments are what defines walking “worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called” in Ephesians 4:1 and how a believers keeps “the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” as discussed in Ephesians 4:2.

“¹ I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, ² With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; ³ Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. ⁴ There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; ⁵ One Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶ One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. ⁷ But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ” (Ephesians 4:1-7).

Undoubtedly the gift of salvation is the giving of the Holy Spirit of God (the “breath of life”). The giving of the indwelling Holy Spirit of God is the giving of the Christ-life (I John 5:11-12). As the believer comes to open this gift, we simply find gifts within gifts with gifts to an infinite, unimaginable, and unsearchable degree. This indwelling Holy Spirit gift is the unlimited resource of the “living water” that Christ spoke of to the Samaritan woman in John chapter 4.

“⁹ Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. ¹⁰ Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. ¹¹ The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? ¹² Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? ¹³ Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: ¹⁴ But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:9-14).

Clearly this “gift of God” of the “living water” is referring to the indwelling Holy Spirit (John 7:38-39). Paul expands upon this “gift” in Romans chapter 5.

“¹² Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: ¹³ (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. ¹⁴ Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. ¹⁵ But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many {not all in that the “gift” “by grace” must be received “through faith”}. ¹⁶ And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. ¹⁷ For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) ¹⁸ Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. ¹⁹ For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. ²⁰ Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: ²¹ That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 5:12-21).

The important aspect of the gift of God’s grace both in salvation and in the “river of living water” that flows from the new man of the New Creation in Christ Jesus is that God does not want us to merely receive His free gift, or even that we might open that free gift and the many gifts within each gift. God wants us to, and expects us to, use each aspect of the gift He has given and we have received in the unlimited depth of its unsearchable riches.

“⁷ But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. ⁸ And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. ⁹ Use hospitality one to another without grudging. ¹⁰ As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. ¹¹ If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen” (I Peter 4:7-11).

Many times I have given a book I have written to someone as a gift. My intent in giving them the book was to try to help them with a spiritual issue in their life that they were struggling with. Many times I have visited some of those people only to find the book was never opened, let alone read. They continued in the same spiritual struggle they had before I gave them the book and will most probably continue in that struggle and its outcomes for the rest of their lives. It is not enough to open God’s Book. You will actually need to read it, study it, and learn its Truths. Yet, even reading the Book will not be enough. You will also have to begin to apply those Truths, live these Truths, and incorporate them into your everyday practices of life. Even all of this is not enough if we want to see God produce fruit through our lives. Before this doing to be spiritually effective, believers will need to live these truths through the supernatural enabling of the Holy Spirit (the filling of the Spirit).

AUDIO SERMON AVAILABLE AT SERMON AUDIO.COM

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Dr. Lance Ketchum serves the Lord as a Church Planter, Evangelist/Revivalist.
He has served the Lord for over 40 years.

Faithful Attendance

A pastor was once asked to define “Faithful Attendance at Worship,” and this was his reply: All that I ask is that we apply the same standards of faithfulness to our church activities that we would in other areas of our life. That doesn’t seem too much to ask. The church, after all, is concerned about faithfulness. Consider these examples:

If your car started one out of three times, would you consider it faithful? If the paperboy skipped Monday and Thursdays, would they be missed? If you didn’t show up at work two or three times a month, would your boss call you faithful? If your refrigerator quit a day now and then, would you excuse it and say, “Oh, well, it works most of the time.” If your water heater greets you with cold water one or two mornings a week while you were in the shower, would it be faithful? If you miss a couple of mortgage payments in a year’s time, would your mortgage holder say, “Oh, well, ten out of twelve isn’t bad”? If you miss worship and attend meetings only often enough to show you’re interested but not often enough to get involved, are you faithful?

How would you answer concerning your faithfulness?

Lord bless,

Bro. Harry Shomaker

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VOICES AT CHRISTMAS

I planned a lavish modern home
Where wealthy friends could call,
But then I heard an orphan say,
“I have no home at all.”


I planned to buy a bedroom suite
So exquisite with charm
But then I heard a mother pray,
“Lord, keep my baby warm.”


I wanted then a freezer
To store my fancy food,
For mine was now old-fashioned
and not the kind that stood.


Just then across the ocean
Came this bitter, plaintive cry:
“But I don’t have a bite of food…
Please help me or I die.”



I bought a car for Christmas
It was for my loved ones dear,
But then I heard an orphan cry,
“I have no loved ones here.”


I spent a lot of money
for friends at Christmastime,
But when it came to missions,
I didn’t give a dime.


When Christmas was all over,
I reckoned what I’d spent.
It was so vast and large a sum
I could not but repent.


For it just seemed I heard that morn
A far-off mother say,
“How long ago was Jesus born
To take our sins away?”


Her words began to haunt my heart
For it had grown so cold
My children had the gospel light
But hers were still untold.


I vowed that day that I would give
And work with all my might
to win a lost and dying world
From sin and heathen night.

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Step Three

Sunday night our current Bible College senior spoke using the following as his scripture reference:

Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest. (Ecclesiastes 9:10 KJV)

While his sermon was absolutely applicable to our daily lives, and he gave examples along with other scriptures to exhort us to do our best, another facet caught my attention. He mentioned that he’s learned three things about work:

1 – Communicated expectations
2 – Boundaries and limitations
3 – Assessments

That is so similar to what our Software Quality Management testing used. The three things that made up our structure were:

1 – Defined Requirements
2 – Maximums and minimums of the system
3 – Results

It stands to reason that the first two items are extremely important. We need to know what we are supposed to do. Without that, there is chaos. God provided across millennia what we are to do, and boiled it down to an essence in His word:

And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. (Deuteronomy 6:5 KJV)

Through His Son, He confirmed this again, then explained what the remainder constitutes:

Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. (Matthew 22:37-40 KJV)

In the preacher’s example, we assess what worked, what didn’t and plan accordingly for the next time. Testing comes down to a simple pass/fail result, as do our lives. There is season and time appointed for us:

And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: (Hebrews 9:27 KJV)

The Bible doesn’t speak of second chances. The rich man and Lazarus brought about no change for either of them, and a conclusion from Abraham:

And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead. (Luke 16:31 KJV)

Ezekiel knew of such people:

Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious house, which have eyes to see, and see not; they have ears to hear, and hear not: for they are a rebellious house. (Ezekiel 12:2 KJV)

What do we see? What do we hear during this assessment? What will be the result?

The Path

There is a parable about a man who was traveling down a certain path. He came to a bend in the path, and being in a hurry, he decided to take a shortcut. He knew that he was not familiar with the shortcut which he decided to take, but reasoned that since it wasn't too far across and that it would save him some time it was worth the risk. 


He had traveled off the main path only a very short distance when he discovered that he was in the midst of a bed of quicksand! No wonder other travelers had avoided taking the shortcut. Slowly he felt himself going under. 
 
Worried that he would die before anyone could pass by to help him, his heart leaped for joy when he heard the footsteps of another traveler coming down the main path. Soon the traveler came into view and the sinking man recognized him as Confucius. "Help!" he called out. "Help me. I'm sinking!" Confucius saw him, paused and then remarked: "That should be evidence that men should stay out of such places." With that Confucius continued on his way. 
 
As the man continued to slowly sink into the quicksand, he knew that he would soon be dead. But suddenly there was another traveler on the path. The sinking man recognized the traveler as Buddha. "Help me, Buddha, before I die." Buddha looked at the man and spoke: "Kill the desire to live which you have and you will be alright." Then Buddha continued down the path. 
 
By and by another traveler came down the road. He was Mohammed. As the sinking man cried out for help, Mohammed stopped to survey the situation. Seeing what had happened, Mohammed cried out to the man: "I can do nothing. It is the will of Allah." With that, Mohammed passed on by. 
 
By the time that the quicksand was to the man's waist, a Hindu appeared on the path. In a voice weak from exhaustion the sinking man called out for help. "Please, my friend, help me for I am about to die." The Hindu showed little concern for the man, but he did try to comfort him. "Don't worry," the Hindu called out, "perhaps in the next life you will return to earth in the form of the sacred cow." The sinking man watched as he walked away. 
 
The man had given up hope of survival by this time.
The quicksand was up to his shoulders and only one arm and his head were still exposed. But he heard footsteps on the path again. Looking up, he saw that it was Christ walking down the path. In a feeble, broken voice he cried for help. "Sir, I have called to others for help. In their own way each of them did what he believed would be of help to me. Please, sir, unless you help me I shall surely die."
Jesus left the main path, went down to where the quicksand was, and reached out His hand. "Give me your hand and I shall pull you out." 
 
Together, arm in arm, they walked down the main path.

*This shows that no matter who turns your down in life and who betrays you, Jesus is always there to help and aid you in any situation and lead you in the right path, even if you ended up going to the wrong places and doing the wrong things in life*

http://itsallaboutgod.tripod.com/id14.html

Confucius, Buddha, Mohammed, Hindu, Jesus, Salvation

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Instilling Substance Over Semblance

As we have already discussed, God initially intended for all of the children of Israel to be a kingdom of priests and to be able to come near and communicate directly with Him. Initially, the children of Israel agreed to this new arrangement that God proposed to them at Sinai.

“⁵ Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: ⁶ And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. ⁷ And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the LORD commanded him. ⁸ And all the people answered together, and said, All that the LORD hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the LORD” (Exodus 19:5-8).

God’s intent in establishing the whole nation of Israel as a “kingdom of priests,” or a sovereignty of priests, was to establish a theocracy through which He could sovereignly rule the nation of Israel through direct communication to and through the children of Israel as priests. On two different occasions Israel refused the theocratic rule of God directly through their lives as priests. The first occasion is when they asked for another mediator in Moses to speak to God for them and through which God would speak to them.

“¹⁸ And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off. ¹⁹ And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die. ²⁰ And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not. ²¹ And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was” (Exodus 20:18-21).

After the children of Israel rejected God’s offer to speak directly to them and through them, God established the Levitical priesthood for that purpose. The second occasion when Israel refused the theocratic rule of God was just before Samuel’s death. Although Samuel told God what the people said and then told the people God’s response to their request, “nevertheless” they demanded that Samuel make a king that would judge them like the other nations had.

“⁴ Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah, ⁵ And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations. ⁶ But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the LORD. ⁷ And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them. ⁸ According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee. ⁹ Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and shew them the manner of the king that shall reign over them. ¹⁰ And Samuel told all the words of the LORD unto the people that asked of him a king. ¹¹ And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots. ¹² And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots. ¹³ And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers. ¹⁴ And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants. ¹⁵ And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants. ¹⁶ And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work. ¹⁷ He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants. ¹⁸ And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not hear you in that day. ¹⁹ Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us; ²⁰ That we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles” (I Samuel 8:4-20).

The intent of the Theocracy was that God intended to govern His redeemed directly through His Law. When they refused, He continued to pursue this avenue of His sovereignty through the rule of Law through an appointed priesthood. When the nation of Israel added their desire for a king like of the other nations, they rejected the direct sovereignty of God over them to add another in-betweener. This was not God’s will, but He allowed it and gave them what they demanded along with the just desserts of their demand. At this point, Israel became a Theonomy.

The difference between a Theocracy and a Theonomy is the transition from God’s governance of Law over His redeemed directly through His Word and through an ordained priesthood to God’s governance of Law over a society, nation, or group of nations through an established government usually through a king, political leader, or developed organization with multilateral input. Israel evolved into a Theonomy through the progressive rejection of God’s will. God allowed this, but He wanted a more intimate and direct relationship with His people.

The restoration of the theocracy is a major aspect of God’s intended sovereign rule over His creation through the lives of His redeem. The restoration of this theocracy is also a major part of the incarnation and the coming of the Promised Messiah. It is into this context of restoration of dominion through a Theocracy with Jesus as the High Priest, and a new priesthood as His sovereignty of priests of all Church Age believers, that God would provide a new beginning at the second coming of Christ and at the beginning of the Kingdom Age.

However, before this new beginning for the restoration of the Theocracy could come into existence, Jesus needed to be born of a virgin, live a sinless life, be substitutionally crucified to bear the sins of the whole world in His body to propitiate God, to be buried, resurrected, and glorified to ascend to the right hand of the Father in Heaven. From that exalted position our new High Priest lives to mediate between the Father and believers and to examine, test, and qualify Church Age believers as His new kingdom of priests. This is the substance of Isaiah 9:1-7 in the prophetic announcement of the birth of Messiah and His ultimate reign as Prophet, High Prierst, and King. We must see this restoration of the Theocracy “in Christ” and the testing/proving/qualifying of individual believers for a new priesthood as the central purpose of the time span we know as the Church Age.

“¹ Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations. ² The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. ³ Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy: they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. ⁴ For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian. ⁵ For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood; but this shall be with burning and fuel of fire. ⁶ For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government {misrah = empire; referring to a Theocracy; this comes from the Hebrew word sarah, which means to prevail connecting to the power that comes from that prevailing victory} shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. ⁷ Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end {infinite or eternal}, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever {infinite or eternal}. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this {i.e., this will not be accomplished by human efforts such as Amillennialism or the political activism of Theonomic Reconstructionism}” (Isaiah 9:1-7).

When a sinner calls on the Name of the LORD Jesus to save his soul from condemnation, he is immediately and supernaturally connected to the spiritual dynamic of God’s glorious purpose detailed in Isaiah 9:1-7. This spiritual dynamic to which the all true believers are connected through the New Birth does not end with the virgin birth of the promised Messiah. Therefore, although we can celebrate the virgin birth of the Promised One, it is not His birth that opens the door to our New Birth. His death, burial, resurrection, and glorification is what makes Jesus the “door” into the New Genesis “by grace through faith.” Secondly, for the vast majority who celebrate the birth of the Messiah, most are still lost and on their way to an eternity of hopeless depair and endless torment because they have never heard or understood the gospel and responded to God’s gracious offer of redemption be repenting of sin, believing the objective facts of the gospel, confessing Jesus as JEHOVAH, calling on His Name to save them, and receiving the impartation of God-kind righteousness by receiving Christ in the indwelling Holy Spirit of God. Although they celebrate the birth of Messiah, they remain disconnected to the spiritual dynamic of the hope of salvation and their own future glorification. Many have been deceived and misplaced their faith in their own works (Morlalism and/or Ritualism) producing a false hope.

“²¹ Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. ²² Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? ²³ And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:21-23).

There is no deception more subtle than self-deception, for when we are self-deceived we stop looking for the Truth. The greatest self-deception is to convince ourselves that we have an eternal hope without having laid the foundation for that hope in the objective facts of the gospel of Jesus Christ and without evaluationg whether or not we have made a Biblically defined responsed of faith in those objective facts.

Whatever aspect of the theocracy the local church fulfills under the headship of Christ and the priesthood of the believer, we can be confident that this aspect of the theocracy cannot be fulfilled apart from the enabling grace of God and the filling of the believer priest by the Spirit of God. The congregational polity of a local church is a theocracy and a major aspect of the moral responsibility of every person who claims to be “born again” of the Spirit of God.

THE AUDIO OF THIS MESSAGE IS AVAILABLE AT:

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Anonymous comments will not be allowed.
Numerous studies and series are available free of charge for local churches at:
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Dr. Lance Ketchum serves the Lord as a Church Planter, Evangelist/Revivalist.
He has served the Lord for over 40 years.

Don't Find Fault -- copied

Pray don’t find fault with the man who limps

Or stumbles along the road,

Unless you have worn the shoes he wears

Or struggled beneath his load.

There may be tacks in his shoes that hurt,

Though hidden way from view,

Or the burden he bears, placed on your back,

Might cause you to stumble, too.

Don’t sneer at the man who’s down today,

Unless you have felt the blow

That caused his fall, or felt the same

That only the fallen can know.

You may be strong, but still the blows

That were his, if dealt to you

In the self-same way the self-same time,

Might cause you to stagger, too.

Don’t be too harsh with the man who sins

Or pelt him with words or stones,

Unless you are sure, yea, doubly sure,

That you have no sins of your own.

For you know perhaps, if the tempter’s voice

Could whisper as soft to you

As it did to him when he went astray,

T’would cause you to falter, too.

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ARE YOU A MATURE BELIEVER?

MATURITY - is the ability to control anger and settle differences without violence or destruction.


MATURITY - is patience, the willingness to pass up immediate pleasures in favour of the long term gain.


MATURITY - is perseverance, the ability to sweat out a project or a situation in spite of opposition or discouraging setbacks.


MATURITY - is unselfishness responding to the needs of others, often at the expense of one’s own desires and wishes.


MATURITY - is the capacity of face unpleasantness and frustration, discomfort and defeat without complaint or collapse.


MATURITY - is humility. It is being big enough to say I was wrong. And when right, the mature person need not say I told you so.


MATURITY - is the ability to make a decision and stand by it. The immature spend their lives exploring endless possibilities, then do nothing.


MATURITY - means dependability, keeping one’s word, coming through in the crisis. The immature are masters of the alibi, confused and disorganized. Their lives are a maze of broken promises, former friends, unfinished business and good intentions which never materialize.


MATURITY - is the art of living in peace with that which we cannot change.


copied

Watering The Seed

Leviticus 11:37-38 And if any part of their carcase fall upon any sowing seed which is to be sown, it shall be clean. (38) But if any water be put upon the seed, and any part of their carcase fall thereon, it shall be unclean unto you.

As I was reading today, I found these two verses to be interesting. Here, God is going over with Moses what they can consider to be clean and unclean when a dead carcase touches it. What caught my eye, and my heart, today was that God considered the seed clean as long as it had not been watered. As I read it, I asked myself why this would be - and here is what the Lord gave me:

The seed was still within itself UNTIL the water touched it. Once the water touched the seed, the seed begins to open. As I thought about this, I was reminded of these verses we often quote when speaking about soul-winning and witnessing:

Psalms 126:5-6 They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. (6) He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.

Many Christians do what they can to "Sow the Seed" but they never see any fruit of conversions. Why is it? Well, one reason may be that the seed needs to be water with the tears of our broken heart before it can open up. May we not only sow the seed, but may we water it with our tears so that God may allow us to bring in some sheaves.

Health Care Bill

The health care bill will be voted on in the Senate this week. For people to make themselves slaves of the government is bad enough, but to see the day where the government forces its own people into slavery is worse. God did not give the government the responsibility to pay for my healthcare. He gave that to me and to my family.

In a sense, this bill will pull us (as daughters) from our families and no longer give our fathers the right to provide for us in this way. It makes us belong to the government, and this was NEVER, NEVER, NEVER God's plan!

I want to challenge you to faithfully call your senators each day until the bill is voted on. Remind them that they are representing you and not the president. Tell them that you want the right to be responsible for your own health care!

Click here for a link to find the phone numbers for your own state senators!

Pre-approving a New Priesthood

“¹⁷ Now in this that I declare unto you I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse. ¹⁸ For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it. ¹⁹ For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you. ²⁰ When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord’s supper. ²¹ For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken. ²² What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not. ²³ For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: ²⁴ And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. ²⁵ After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. ²⁶ For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come. ²⁷ Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. ²⁸ But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. ²⁹ For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. ³⁰ For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. ³¹ For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. ³² But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world. ³³ Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another. ³⁴ And if any man hunger, let him eat at home; that ye come not together unto condemnation. And the rest will I set in order when I come” (I Corinthians 11:17-34).

The Lord’s Supper is an ordinance of remembrance that looks backward to the Cross-work of Jesus Christ and to a “finished” work of redemption. We see this emphasis of remembrance in I Corinthians 11:24-25 by the repeated words “in remembrance of me.” The Lord’s Supper is intent upon bringing the believer-priest back to Calvary to remind him of the cost of his redemption and to remind him to be thankful for the overwhelming, unsearchable, and unspeakable work of grace in the death, burial, and resurrection/glorification of Jesus Christ that was necessary to secure the salvation of the believer’s soul for all eternity and to make him a priest before God.

The Lord’s Supper is ONLY for believers. We can go even beyond that basic restriction. The Lord’s Supper is ONLY for believer priests who seek to be completely consecrated to the LORD (Rom. 12:1-2) and who pursue being morally pure and sanctified as they stand before Him to minister His message of reconciliation (II Cor. 5:18) and to make disciples for Jesus Christ to the glory of God. Therefore, it is ordinance of remembrance ONLY for those who remember their purpose of approval before God and are determined to fulfill that purpose by the grace of God’s indwelling power through the filling of the Spirit of God (Eph. 5:18). The Lord’s Supper is an ordinance of remembrance ONLY for believer priests who remember, are grateful, and who are obedient (are “doers of the Word, and not hearers only;” James 1:22) in all that they know of the Word of God.

In light of all of this, we can also go so far as to say that the Lord’s Supper is an ordinance of consecration for God’s New Covenant believer priests intent upon a commitment to have a sanctified local church through which the Holy Spirit might manifest the Christ-life, bring forth the fruit of souls to salvation, and supernaturally and progressive transfigure their lives through the discipleship process. Therefore, the Lord’s Supper is an ordinance of remembrance and an ordinance of consecration to achieve the “unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:3) within the formal membership of a local church so that God might be glorified/magnified through the “work of the ministry” (Eph. 4:12) of the members of a local church.

To help understand God’s expectations in the consecration of His New Covenant believer priests, we must apply a complimentary hermeneutic; i.e., looking at the Mosaic Covenant type in the consecration of those Priests and the elements and areas of emphasis in those types that define consecration and sanctification. The consecration of a priest typically involved four areas of his life to be qualified to serve/minister before the LORD.

I must emphasize that in transitioning these qualifications for ministry from the Mosaic Covenant type to the New Covenant reality, we must be careful that we do not convey an idea that all God was concerned about in the Levitical priesthood was externals. That was certainly not the case.

Although the Levitical priests under the Mosaic Covenant quickly slipped into this deadly externalism, it is clear from many Scriptures that God intended for them to understand these types and translate them into spiritual realities. That is what we need to do in order to understand how these types apply to New Covenant believers and what is required of us to be qualified to serve the LORD that defines the perfection of the saints necessary to doing “the work of the ministry” (Eph. 4:12). Each of the areas listed below were intricately connected one to the other. There was no such nonsense as allowing a priest to serve that was disqualified by failure in any one of these four areas.

1. His election by birthright as God’s “firstborn” and peculiar possession with unique privileges and model moral responsibilities. Therefore, the priest’s election was vocational. They had no part in the land distribution of Israel and were totally separated from temporal promises of God, being connected to God’s provision for them and to serve before God and to men. In this vocational calling/election, each priest was to be totally devoted to serving the LORD through teaching and explaining God’s Word, administrating the Law and making judgments regarding the Law, and involving himself in the sacred duties of the Tabernacle/Temple of God.

For the New Covenant priesthood, this qualification type is basically salvation. The New Covenant priest MUST be “born again.” All “born again” believers are called/elected to be priests before God. However, the next three areas of qualifications will determine when, if, and how often God will be able to bless what they seek to do for Him.

2. Holiness was the indispensible condition before any priest dare stand before God, the Holy One of Israel. The priest could not have a physical defect or disease of any kind to typify spiritual blamelessness and moral purity. Holiness extended into defining factors of his daily life such as who he could marry or could not marry, the foods he ate, and the things he drank. Almost every detail of his life was defined and had specific moral boundaries that he could not cross lest he be disqualified/disapproved. His life and relationships were under the constant scrutiny of the High Priest, his fellow priests, and by the congregation of Israel. In every aspect of his life, he lived in a glass house.

We must be careful here to distinguish between the believer’s positional sanctification “in Christ” and his practical sanctification through confession of sin, forgiveness and cleansing by Christ (I John 1:7-9), and the filling of the Spirit of God for spiritual empowerment, discernment, and illumination. The acceptability of a New Covenant believer’s priestly service as an Ambassador for Christ is conditioned BOTH upon his positional sanctification “in Christ” (this is salvation) and his practical sanctification through separation from worldliness and through spiritual cleansing.

3. Consecration was typified by how the priests approached God. Consecration involves the presentation of what we are to God to be used by God for his purposes. Therefore, consecration involves a commitment to God to serve Him by actually DOING the work He has called us to do.

Under the Mosaic Covenant, consecration involved ceremonial washings, times of purification, and offering of the right sacrifices for himself. When all of these areas of sanctification were in order, the priest would receive his ceremonial clothing that he wore only for service in the Tabernacle/Temple and was anointed with oil (typical of the Holy Spirit) before he began to actually do the work he was ordained to do. To go before the LORD without considerations of meeting the qualifications of both holiness and consecration was a rank manifestation of unbelief. The ceremony of sanctification and consecration was elaborately detailed involving seven days of purification and separation. It is detailed in Exodus 29:1-37.

4. The clothing of the priest as he ministered before the LORD was an outward manifestation of both holiness in the clean white linen garments and consecration in that these garments were never to be worn for any other purpose than to serve the LORD in His Temple or by anyone that was not both a priest or by a priest who had not been sanctified and consecrated. Therefore, the Mosaic Covenant priest’s garments distinguished him as uniquely peculiar. He literally looked different than anyone else merely by his dress. No one but a consecrated and sanctified priest could wear the priestly garb. Secondly, the priest never wore shoes/sandals when ministering before the LORD in that he walked upon holy ground sanctified by the presence of Jehovah.

The New Covenant priest is equally limited in his/her requirements to be both sanctified and consecrated before he/she can be clothed for ministry. However, the New Covenant priest’s clothing is not physical. The New Covenant priest’s clothing is Jesus Christ (the Christ-life).

“¹¹ And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. ¹² The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. ¹³ Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. ¹⁴ But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof” (Romans 13:11-14).

In Ephesians 4:17-32, the Apostle Paul defines what is meant by his statements in Romans 13:12 & 14 respectively in the phrases “put on the armour of light” and “put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ.”

“¹⁷ This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, ¹⁸ Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: ¹⁹ Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. ²⁰ But ye have not so learned Christ; ²¹ If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: ²² That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; ²³ And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; ²⁴ And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. ²⁵ Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. ²⁶ Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: ²⁷ Neither give place to the devil. ²⁸ Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. ²⁹ Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. ³⁰ And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. ³¹ Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: ³² And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:17-32).

We do not merely “put on” Christ over “the old man.” The “old man” must be “put off” first. That is what Paul defines in Ephesians 4:25-32. Paul reiterates this same concept in Colossians chapter 3. We cannot, and should not, separate this instruction from the context of the sanctification and consecration of the believer priest of the New Covenant before God. Colossians chapter 1 lays the foundation for what Paul will say later in Colossians chapter 3.

“²¹ And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled ²² In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: ²³ If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister; ²⁴ Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church: ²⁵ Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; ²⁶ Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: ²⁷ To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: ²⁸ Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: ²⁹ Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily” (Colossians 1:21-29).

Anonymous comments will not be allowed.
Numerous studies and series are available free of charge for local churches at:
http://www.disciplemakerministries.org/

Dr. Lance Ketchum serves the Lord as a Church Planter, Evangelist/Revivalist.
He has served the Lord for over 40 years.