THE PRESENT DAY TRUTH CHURCH (part 2)

In part 1, we compared the church to the St John River with its many various tributaries, that each adds their particular blend of water to the main stream. Every move of God through the years was meant to do the same thing to the church, however, because human nature being what it is, this didn’t always work out as God had planned. Some moves of God resulted in false doctrines being spawned by people who became fanatical about certain teaching, and carried it beyond the truth it was meant to restore. Then we had the problem of people who were involved in the last move, refusing to accept the new truth. Everyone likes to think that they are right in their particular beliefs, and therefore the person holding a different belief must be wrong. The truth is that they could both be wrong, or at least not have the whole truth on any given topic. The scripture says that now we all see through a glass darkly, or in other words, no one has all the truth on any subject. In (Deut 29:29) we read that, “the secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things that are revealed belong to us and our children forever”. Only God knows everything, and unless He chooses to reveal His secrets to us, they remain hidden from us.

We need to learn from each other in the body of Christ, keeping in mind that we only know in part, and our brother in the Lord may know something that has been revealed to him, but not to us. This requires that we remain humble and teachable. Many church splits and divisions could have been prevented, if people would have practiced this simple truth! Pride is a very subtle thing, and often shows itself in these areas. Paul has many wise things for us to pay heed to in his various letters to the churches he had started. For example (Eph 3:1-5), (Phil 2:1-5), and

(Col 1:15-23).

If we want to be part of “The Present Day Truth Church” in these last days in which we are living, it’s imperative that we learn all we can about church history. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal truth to you, so you won’t make the same mistakes that some others in the past have made. Then read some good books that give a balanced report of what God has restored in previous moves through the years. One that I have found very helpful is “The Eternal Church” by Bill Hamon, written back in 1981. He traces the history of the church from Pentecost through the dark ages, and gives an honest balanced report on the various restoration moves of God from Martin Luther’s time up to the time he wrote this book in 1981. It’s an easy book to read, and I believe gives an accurate picture of God’s intention for the church that Jesus said He would build! Blessings on you, as you find your place in this church in our day.

Sincerely submitted.

Gramp

THE PRESENT DAY TRUTH CHURCH (part 1)

THE PRESENT DAY TRUTH CHURCH (part 1)

The church that Jesus Christ is in the process of building can be compared to the St John River. The headwaters are in northern Maine and it empties into the Bay of Fundy through the narrow Reversing Falls Rapids. Along the way many tributaries empty their flow into the main stream, such as the Tobique, the Aroostock, the Oromocto, etc. Each of these smaller rivers contribute their particular flow of water, which becomes mixed in with the water in the main river. So the water that goes out to the Bay of Fundy through the Reversing Falls is a mixture of all these rivers, and cannot be separated!

In like manner the church had its beginning at Pentecost, and continues into the 21^st century. As you study the history of the church, you find it deteriorated during the “dark ages” until God started a restoration process with a man named Martin Luther in 1517 AD. He restored the truth of Justification by faith, and began what has been called the Protestant Reformation. This was followed by many different moves of God, each bringing a particular truth that had been lost through the dark ages, back into the church. A study of church history will reveal the main tributaries to the main flow, such as the Holiness movement, the Pentecostal movement, The Latter Rain, and the Healing / Evangelist movement, the Charismatic movement etc. right up to the present day.

Each of these movements was a true work of God, designed to restore a particular truth that had been lost, back into normal church life. The chief problem with each new move was that the people, who had been part of the previous move, resisted the new thing because they felt the truth they had received was the final word from God, and they felt that they must protect it at any cost! This is as ridiculous as the Tobique River refusing to allow its crystal clear waters to mix with the water in the main river, and somehow trying to keep them from becoming “contaminated”. This way of thinking has resulted in the formation of many separate independent groups that became different “denominations” over the years.

I’m sure that God would desire a “Present Day Truth Church” that would incorporate all the various items of truth that He has faithfully revealed to the church through the years. Like the various tributaries to the St John river that are part of every drop of water that flows into the Bay of Fundy, so this church is composed of the truth that every move of God has produced over the years, and this truth cannot be separated from the whole!

More to follow in (part 2).

Sincerely submitted.

Gramp

THE HERD INSTINCT

This article was birthed by my reading of the daily devotional in Our Daily Bread on Tues April 17, 2007. The writer, Mart De Haan, told the story of a flock of sheep that mindlessly followed one another over a cliff to their death! Sheep are known to be easily influenced to follow the flock, without considering the potential outcome. The scriptures often compare us to sheep, and our need of a shepherd's care. (John 10:1-18)

Like sheep we are all easily influenced by others. Just think of how many companies are trying to get our attention daily through advertising for the purpose of buying their particular products. They know that a certain number of people will respond to their adds and buy their products, so they are willing to invest big bucks in this attempt to influence us.

In the spiritual realm we have an enemy who is constantly trying to influence us to follow him instead of following Jesus. He is given many titles in scripture that indicate his intentions, one important name for him is "deceiver", because he is an expert at deception. Jesus warns us of the danger of being deceived in these last days. (Matt 24:4, 5, and 11) Paul also warned us of this danger in (2 Thess 2:5-12), this is a very challenging passage of scripture for us who are living in this period of time. We need to read the passage in John 10 carefully and make sure that we have made Jesus our"Good Shepherd". He is the only one who can protect us from following other voices of influence.

So the bottom line is the questions asked by Mart in his article mentioned above "Whom are we following? One another? Self-centered shepherds? Or the voice and direction of the Good Shepherd?" He closed his article with these words from an old hymn.

"Savior like a shepherd lead us,

Much we need Thy tender care;

In Thy pleasant pastures feed us,

For our use Thy folds prepare." ---Thrupp

The tendency to follow the crowd today in our world is huge! Let's listen for the still small voice of the Holy Spirit, who will never lead us astray!

Follow Christ, not the crowd!

Sincerely submitted

Gramp

NO CONDEMNATION

These words, taken from Rom 8:1 should resound in our ears like the words “you are pardoned” must sound to a prisoner on “death row” in prison who has just received the word that at the last minute the Governor has granted him a full pardon! Paul begins this chapter with the words “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus”. Every one of these words is important, and we need to look at each one carefully, if we are to really understand the full meaning that Paul had in mind.

Whenever we see the word “therefore”, we need to look back a few verses to find out why this word is used. In this case the reference is to the last two verses of the previous chapter. Here we see that Paul asked a question, and then answered it. This set the stage for this profound and awesome statement, “there is therefore now no condemnation”. Notice the little word “now”, this means right now, in our present situation, as long as we are “in Christ Jesus”. Paul uses this same phrase in (2 Cor 5:17) “Therefore if any man (woman, boy or girl) be in Christ he is a new creation----“. In this case he is referring back to verse 14 “if one died for all, then all died”. This is certainly the theme that Paul has been dwelling on in chapters 6 and 7, and wants to reinforce here in chapter 8. This brings us to the words “no condemnation” which we will explore now in a little more detail.

Who among us has never felt “condemned” at one time or another? Usually it is our guilty conscience that will condemn us for some wrong thought, or action! Even after we have been forgiven by God, when we repent of our many sins and receive Jesus as our personal Savior, we often still feel condemned. This is because we have an enemy called Satan, sometimes referred to as the “accuser of the brethren”. Not only is he the one who tempts us to do wrong, but then makes us feel condemned when we yield to his temptation. We have learned from our study of Rom 6 and 7 that our old sinful nature that we were born with, died with Christ on the cross. However we all have what Paul refers to as our “flesh”, that part of us that wants to protect “self”, and fights against the Spirit who now dwells in all believers. The Holy Spirit will “convict”, but never “condemn” us when we do something wrong! Condemnation always comes from our enemy. We need to learn to distinguish between his condemning voice, and the affirming still small voice of the Spirit of God! This is part of the process of “sanctification” that comes with maturity in our walk with the Lord daily! There is no shortcut, or easy way that I know of to arrive at spiritual maturity!

Sincerely submitted.

Gramp

OUR INHERITANCE

It has recently come to my attention that in all three passages of Paul’s letters that list the works of the flesh, or the sins that are so prevalent in the world today, we find a similar warning pertaining to our inheritance. Check them out, they are (1Cor 6:9-10, Gal 5:19-21, and Eph 5:3-5). In every case it is clear that those who do these things will have no part, or inheritance in the Kingdom of God. Now we have known born again Christians over the years who have been involved in many, if not all, of the sins mentioned in these passages. Does that mean they were not really saved? Or did they lose their salvation because of their sin? Before we pass judgment on these people, we need to look more closely at what is meant by this word “inheritance”. It simply means to take possession of property or an estate made available to us by an ancestor. We hear of people inheriting wealth from some relative they may never have met, but they are one of the legitimate family heirs to a portion of this estate.

When we become a member of God’s family through the “new birth” experience mentioned in (John 3:3), we become an heir of God, and “joint heir” with Jesus Christ. (Rom 8:17). This inheritance is a part in the Kingdom of God, and as Peter tells us, is reserved in heaven for us. (1 Peter 1:3-5). But we know from our study of the Kingdom of God, that it is not only future, but present now on planet earth. Jesus is King of this Kingdom, and it came to earth with Him at His incarnation in Bethlehem, many years ago. When He taught His disciples to pray in (Matt 6:9-13), He told them to pray to the Father that the Kingdom that exists in heaven, might be established on earth. As believers we are “transferred” out of the kingdom of darkness, into the Kingdom of God. (Col 1:13). If we are transferred in, then we can be legislated back out. This doesn’t affect our standing in the family of God, but can affect our inheritance. Our place in the Kingdom is determined by our conduct, and can be affected by our actions. That’s why we should pay close attention to the warnings given in the scriptures mentioned at the beginning of this article. Membership or citizenship in the Kingdom is reserved for believers who are obedient to the commandments given to us in God’s word. Remember Esau who traded His birthright to his brother Jacob for a bowl of stew? Later when he desired to have it back we are told in (Heb 12:14-17) he found no place for repentance! This is very serious business, and should call for our careful consideration, and a clear understanding of what is involved for us as believers. It seems to me that a complete break with the world is essential!!

Sincerely in Him.

Gramp

REJECTION

This is based on an article written by Derek Prince back in 1977, and published in New Wine magazine. He says one in five people in the US is affected in some way by rejection. He says "Rejection, simply defined, is the sense of being unwanted or the sense that, although you want people to love you, no one does." Many of us can relate to that definition! Rejection often begins with a "wounded spirit" in (Isa 54:6) we read about a young wife who was "forsaken and grieved in spirit". Apparently she had been abandoned by her husband, a common problem in our world today. Rejection often begins with the child in their mother's womb. For various reasons a pregnancy may be "unwanted", and the baby can feel the rejection. Satan takes advantage of this situation and plants a spirit of rejection in this helpless child. Or it can happen later in life like the woman we read about in Isaiah 54.

Rejection always brings about a reaction, which usually first shows up as "loneliness". This leads to misery, self-pity, depression and moods of gloominess. The end result is often despair or a sense of hopelessness, which sometimes ends up in a tragic death, or suicide.

Another possible reaction to rejection can be "hardness", this leads to "indifference", or an "I don't care" attitude. After indifference comes "rebellion", which sometimes leads to "witchcraft" (1 Sam 15:23), which can include any part of the occult realm, including the martial arts and yoga etc.

So we see from either of these reactions to rejection, the consequences to the person's spirit can be devastating if not handled properly! Every solution to every problem we might have in our life, is found in the "Cross of Jesus Christ". That may sound like too simple an answer, especially to anyone who still has a "natural mind" (1 Cor 2:14). The cross can be considered as God's "exchange centre", where we can exchange our old sinful life for a completely new one. Here are a few aspects of this exchange according to brother Prince "1/ Jesus was punished for our sin that we might be forgiven, 2/ Jesus was wounded for our sicknesses that we might be healed, 3/ Jesus was made sickness itself that we might have health, 4/ Jesus became poor for our sakes that we might have His wealth, 5/ Jesus died our death that we might have His life." Acceptance is the opposite of rejection, and (Eph 1:6) tells us we are accepted in Jesus. We need to make this declaration to Satan and his powers of darkness often, and follow these simple steps to completely defeat rejection in our lives. 1/ Forgive all those who have rejected you. 2/ Lay down bitterness, resentment, hatred and rebellion. 3/ Accept the fact that you are accepted in Christ, and that God accepts you. 4/ You have to accept yourself. If rejection has been a problem in your life, following these simple recommendations should defeat the enemy, and bring victory in this area of your life. Make a declaration using these truths, that you can declare boldly before all the powers of darkness, and God's angels of light, and expect to see a definite change!

Sincerely submitted

Gramp

WHO IS MY NEIGHBOR?

In the gospel of Luke,(Luke 10:25-37), we read the story Jesus told, that has come to be referred to as the parable of “The Good Samaritan”. Verse 25 starts out by stating “A certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying teacher what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” After Jesus referred him to the scriptures about loving God and loving your neighbor as you love yourself, he replied with the question in verse 29 “and who is my neighbor?”

Like all the parables that Jesus told, this one is a classic. After telling the story he asks the lawyer a question in verse 36, “which of these three, do you think, proved himself a neighbor to him who fell among the robbers”? The lawyer answered correctly “the one who showed pity and mercy”, to which Jesus then replied “Go and do likewise”.

The Lord sends us “new neighbors” all the time, not because we move into a new neighborhood, or have someone move into ours, but simply by bringing some needy person across our path.

Look around you for someone who needs your help, mercy, and love! They are your “new neighbors”!!

Sincerely submitted.

Gramp

CHRIST IS SUPREME

We read in (Col 1:15-20) about Christ being involved in the creation of everything. He is "the visible image of the invisible God", and "is supreme over all creation". Along with being the creator of all things, He is also the one who "holds it all together" (verse 17), and is also the "head of the Church, which is His Body" (verse 18). That surely qualifies Him as being supreme, in my estimation!

It would seem to be impossible to over emphasis the place of Jesus Christ in our world. And yet many people never mention His name, except as a swear word. It is now not "politically correct" to mention His name in public, especially in prayer, in case you might offend some followers of a different religious group. What ever happened to our religious rights? Since He is "the way, the truth, and the life, and no one can come to Father God except through Him" (John 14:6), and some day "every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father"; it seems to me we should be able to acknowledge Him publicly! I believe that we, who are followers of Jesus, have been deceived into being silent too long on this important issue. It's time that the Church of Jesus Christ came alive to our responsibilities of being a vital witness for Him, and start to speak out in the public forum!

I read an article recently by David Wilkerson about the need for "trouble makers in the Church", like Paul and Silas were, as recorded in (Acts 16:16-40). They caused a riot in the city of Philippi, were locked up in jail, then at midnight they were singing and praising the Lord, and God caused an earthquake that shook them all free from their chains. It's a very interesting story that we should read often to encourage us as to the type of trouble makers we should be. I'm not suggesting we should become law breakers, but we could probably be a lot more "pro-active", and not as "passive", as we have been in the face of the ungodly forces at work in our country in the past few years!

If we believe all the scriptures that declare the supremacy of Jesus Christ, why don't we start to declare them to our public elected officials, and hold them accountable for the mess our country is in morally, socially, and spiritually? We need to speak out for the sake of our families!

Sincerely submitted.

Gramp

LARGE PRAYERS

The scriptures would seem to indicate that we should make our prayer requests large, so large in fact, that when they are answered we will know it has to be an act of God. Most of us don't offer large prayers because our knowledge of God is too small. We somehow think that He is too busy looking after the affairs of this great universe to be concerned with our requests, so we make them small. However this is a misunderstanding of scripture, in fact it is completely opposite to what Jesus taught in His "sermon on the mount" recorded in Matthew chapters 5, 6, and 7. For example read and believe (Matt 6:33)

I recently read a story of a young boy who wanted a small toy stage coach for Christmas, that he had seen in a store. He begged his mother to buy it for him, no other one would do. So on Christmas morning, sure enough, that little stage coach was there for him. His older brother said to him "you did a dumb thing to insist on that little coach, mom had bought a larger one for you, but when you insisted on that one, she took the larger one back and exchanged it for that smaller one". Suddenly the small stage coach didn't seem so appealing!

Sometimes we are like that with God. We think we want something, and beg and plead for it until finally He might give us what we begged for, when He really had something much larger in mind for us. Phillips Brooks once said "Pray the largest prayers. You cannot think a prayer so large that God, in answering it, will not wish you had made it larger". Large asking results in large receiving!

"Do not presume to know what's best

When you begin to pray;

But say to God 'your will be done'

Then trust His perfect way."---Sper

This thought is based on the devotional from Our Daily Bread for April 4, 2007.

Sincerely submitted.

Gramp

CHARACTER MATTERS

I recently read a book by this title written by Mark Rutland, the president of Southeastern University in Lakeland Florida. In the first chapter he talks about how people in our 21st century society have lost the whole concept of the word character.

The English word “character” comes from a Latin root that means "engraved”. The idea is that of a rough piece of granite that can either be carefully sculptured into a beautiful statue or a building stone of some sort, or can be chipped carelessly away to a worthless piece of rubble. Character, the composite virtue and value etched into that stone by the sculptor, will define its worth! Virtues like courage or modesty can be learned by children if they are properly taught and modeled by the older generation. A culture rests on its virtues, and these virtues can be taught.

The very word “virtue” derives from another Latin word for “strength”, virtue is really restrained strength, or strength under control. There is power in virtue, and virtue in power when it is used to impact others for good! Character matters, and virtue is the strength of character. The danger is not so much the lack of virtue, as it is wrong virtues. As a society defines its virtues, it in turn is defined by its virtues. “Twisted virtues mean a twisted culture.”

If a society hopes to elevate its character, it must first carefully define its virtues. Many in our world think there is nothing worth dying for, but they are wrong. There has to be something worth dying for or else the cross of Christ is a sick joke, and Tienanmen Square was a parade of fools!

God can teach us virtue, but we must want it. Now is the time for character! Persons of virtue with the power to touch this tired culture with transforming grace, will not just happen. We must be intentional to produce them, teach them, and carve them with care on the soul of our nation! That is what “character” is all about!

Sincerely submitted.

Gramp

MISCONCEPTION

Lately I’ve been thinking about several areas of church doctrine that are questionable in my mind, and are based more on “man-centered” theories rather than being “God centered”, based on the word of God. At first I started to use the word “deception” to describe how I felt we in the church had been led astray from the truth, but now I wonder if a better word to use might be “misconception”. The dictionary tells us that the word “conception” means the act or faculty of conceiving; that which is conceived; an idea; a notion; plan, or invention. And “concept” means an abstract general notion, or idea; also any notion combining elements into the idea of one object. Then of course when we add the prefix “mis” we have a word that means a wrong or false conception. I believe that is exactly what happened in the formulating of some of our more popular church doctrines.

For example we can take the teaching of a “secret rapture”, which is based on a vision given to a young lady back in 1832, in which she apparently saw Jesus coming in the clouds and “catching away” His bride, the church who was looking for Him to come at “any moment”. She was part of a group led by a man by the name of Irving, who had been put out of the organized church because of his questionable beliefs. This was a very “subjective” experience, and has no basis in scripture, but was received by many as the truth. This has become the core of the popular teaching known as the “Pretribulation Rapture”, which declares that Jesus will come back at any moment to take his church out of the world before the great tribulation under the Antichrist occurs. This teaching is in direct opposition to the plain teaching of Jesus, and others in the scriptures, and I suggest to you that it is a prime example of a case of “misconception”!

While a passage of scripture can have more than one application, it can only have one meaning, and that meaning was determined by the author at the time he penned those words under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. (2 Tim 3:16) We cannot take a scripture out of context, or apply a meaning to it based on our 21^st century understanding of the English translations, or even worse, to use the scriptures to prove the meaning of some particular theory. This will result in a “misconception” every time, and lead to much unnecessary confusion and divisions in the body of Christ. If we could learn to ask the Holy Spirit to help us understand the real meaning of the scripture, whenever we read it, and not take what we have been told it means, I’m sure we would reach maturity in the Lord much quicker!

Sincerely submitted.

Gramp