RECONCILIATION

RECONCILIATION

We read in (2 Cor 5:19) NLT "For God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself, no longer counting people's sins against them. He gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation". Our man-made theology has completely destroyed the truth of this passage of God's Word! Read it again carefully from any translation and the truth will be clear and plain! God the Father was there on the cross with Jesus when He died to pay the price for our redemption.. We have been told that God abandoned His Son at that moment, because He could not look on our sin that Jesus took upon Himself. We have been told that (Matt 27:45) proves this, but scripture never contradicts scripture, so both of these scriptures can't be true. I believe the passage from Matthew must refer to His feelings as a human being, because He was completely human, although completely Divine at the same time. He had already submitted His will to the Father in the Garden of Gethsemane. So this was only a human reaction, and He and the Father were still one at that time, as Paul clearly states!

This false concept that God cannot allow Himself to be associated with evil, appears in many of our church doctrines. One in particular that comes to mind has to do with a person being "demonized". This means a person who is a carrier of one or more demon spirits. The KJV translation uses the term "demon possession" in various places when it should use demonized. The meaning is that we can posses a demon, but the demon doesn't posses us. This has caused a lot of confusion in church circles over the years. Jesus spent a lot of His ministry time, as recorded in the gospels, casting demons out of people. And He gave His disciples authority and the assignment to do the same. (Matt 10:5-8). Certain church denominations have a doctrine that declares a born again believer cannot possibly posses a demon, because the Holy Spirit dwells within them, and an evil spirit and the Holy Spirit couldn't both inhabit a human body at the same time. If we believed this, then a sinner could never be saved, because they often have more than one demon that has been controlling their sinful behavior. When the Holy Spirit convicts them of sin, and the need to receive Jesus as Savior, we know that He becomes part of their life. (John 3:5-7), and (2 Cor 5:17). Jesus said that when we receive the Spirit, He will never leave us, but abide with us forever. This doctrine cannot possibly be true, and has robbed people of deliverance by the power of the Name of Jesus! This is only one of many church doctrines that are not based on God's Word, but merely on the words of man, in my opinion.
Sincerely submitted,
Dave  Jamer                  

God's Two Families

GOD'S TWO FAMILIES

 

In the beginning God----God has always existed as a family or community---Father, Son and Holy Spirit. (Gen 1:1) "Elohim" is a plural form in Hebrew. He desired to enlarge His family---first Adam, then Eve, so they could reproduce and replenish the earth. (Gen 1:26-28) Through Abraham and Sarah God promised their descendants through Isaac, the son of promise, would be as the sands of the seashore (earthly), and as the stars of the heaven (heavenly) (Gen 22:17) Through the prophet Nathan. God spoke to David and promised his "seed" (Christ) would build Him a "house" that will last "forever" (2 Sam 7:4-16). This promise is one of those that has a "duel meaning", or a "near / far" fulfillment. In other words it has one application to "the present" (Solomon), and another application in the distant "future". (Christ). Read (Luke 1:31-33) for the message given to Mary by the angel Gabriel.

 

Jesus came to earth not only to become our "Redeemer", but also to establish a "community of the King" on planet earth! We know this to be His church, composed of "born again" believers from all ages and every nation. This church was birthed in the upper room on the evening of the day Jesus rose from the tomb (John 20:19-23). All the people present were Jewish, or part of the "earthly descendants" of Abraham. They became the first members of the "church" which is made up of the "heavenly descendants" of Abraham. The church expanded to include "Gentiles", a term for anyone who was not Jewish. Paul was given a revelation of the true church, and was used by God to pass on this revelation to us through his many NT letters. (Rom 9, 10 and 11, Gal 5:16-29, Eph 2:11-22)

 

It would appear that God's intention is that throughout eternity He will continue to have His "two families". His earthly family will be living on planet earth and His heavenly family living in the "new Jerusalem" which will be positioned just above the earthly city of Jerusalem. (Rev 21). Some people believe God takes us to a place called heaven where we will spend eternity, but the Bible teaches us that He will bring heaven down to earth! The most complete description of heaven is found in (Rev 21) which describes the "holy city, the new Jerusalem" which God will bring down to earth as His Dwelling place for eternity! Read your Bible to check this out! (Acts 17:11)

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer

BAPTISM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT

BAPTISM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT

The first requirement of a candidate is that they are a "born again" child of God who has a desire for more of the Holy Spirit, since He came into their life the moment they received Jesus as their Savior. The second requirement is that they have a real hunger for more of God, as Jesus explains in (John 7:37-39) There are three words that will aid in the receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit, they are relax, receive, and respond. We will briefly look at each one.

1/ Relax---Many people become tense when they think about anything to do with the Holy Spirit, but this only hinders the work of the Spirit. So just relax physically first, sit back in a comfortable chair, and you are more apt to relax spiritually and emotionally. You are safely in the hands of Jesus, who is the baptizer, (Acts 1:4-5) and you can trust Him!

2/ Receive---Note the words of Jesus as recorded by Luke in (Luke 11:13) "So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him." So simply ask in faith for Jesus to baptize you in His Holy Spirit, and expect Him to answer your prayer. "What things so ever you desire, when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you shall have them." (Mark 11:24). This is not an emotional experience, but a spiritual experience, which may or may not have an emotional component connected to it.

3/ Respond---The sense of the Spirit should be very real as He begins to fill you with His presence. As you breathe in air, imagine you are taking in more of the spirit with each breath, and as you exhale each breath, let it be words of praise and thanksgiving to God. When you run out of words in English, yield your tongue to the Spirit to give you new words that might sound strange to you. On the day of Pentecost they were given a new language "They began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance." (Acts 2:4) Notice "they" began to speak, and the miracle was that He gave them the words. You may only have one or two words at first, but your vocabulary will increase as you use this new language daily. Remember Paul says "He that speaks in an unknown tongue edifies himself." (1 Cor 14:4), this means being built up in your faith, and who doesn't need this?
Sincerely submitted.
Dave Jamer

THREE BAPTISMS

THREE BAPTISMS

1/ Baptism "into Christ" or the body of Christ—(Gal 3: 27), (1 Cor 12: 13) This is the first thing a sinner does to become a follower of Jesus. We must be "born again" (John 3:3), (2 Cor 5:17), (Eph 2:1-10), which is the same thing as being baptized into the body of Christ, in my opinion.

2/ Baptism in water---(Matt 3:13-17), (Acts 8:35-38), (Rom 6:1-6)
This is the second thing a person should do, as soon after becoming "born again" possible. There has been some controversy over the mode of baptism, whether it should be done in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, or in the Name of Jesus. To me they are the same, because Jesus is the only Name in the Godhead, Father and Holy Spirit are titles and not names. An understanding of this would eliminate the controversy.

3/ Baptism "in or with" the Holy Spirit--- (Matt 3:11), (Acts1:1-8)
This can happen at any time after the first two, when a person yields completely to the Holy Spirit, and confesses every known sin, and those that were unknown until God makes them known. This often takes some time of spiritual growth after conversion! (Eph 4:11-13) Some people claim that speaking in "tongues" always accompanies baptism in the Holy Spirit as the "initial sign" or evidence. But others have believed there should be many signs of a "Spirit filled" life besides the gift of tongues, See (Eph 5:18-21) where Paul describes what being filled with the Spirit really means. The Greek word translated here as "be filled", means to keep on continually being filled, and is not a one time experience! The danger as I see it is that if people are expecting any sort of a sign or experience, they might be deceived by Satan who can counterfeit gifts. But if they are seeking Jesus, who is the baptizer, and not some experience, they are safe. I believe the baptism of the Holy Spirit is the first step in a spirit filled life, and the two terms mean the same thing. The baptism never needs to be repeated, but we need to be filled daily. And the initial biblical evidence of the baptism is speaking in a language you have never learned as the Spirit gives this ability.(Acts 2:4)  Once a person is baptized in the Spirit, they need to keep being filled daily, by constantly hungering and thirsting after God!

Sincerely submitted.
Dave Jamer

HOLY OR UNHOLY

HOLY OR UNHOLY?

When God chose the children of Jacob (Israel) as a special people to be an example to the ungodly tribes that inhabited the world of that day, He gave them some clear instructions.Many of these instructions are found in the writings of Moses. I would like to direct you to one such passage in the book of Leviticus, It is chapter 10, verse 10 "that you may distinguish between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean". To put it in context you need to read the whole chapter, especially verses 8-11. God is giving very explicit instructions to Aaron the high priest about keeping clear of some things that would defile him, or make him unclean for service to the Lord.

In (1 Peter 2:4-10), we understand that God considers all born again believers to be part of His "chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation" (vs 9) since Jesus said he did not come to destroy the law, but only to fulfill it then we know that the principles laid down in the OT apply to us in the NT age. This principle of holiness and living a separated life from the world system is certainly one of these.

There has been a lot of confusion in the church as to the real meaning of holiness. Most people associate it with a list of do's and don'ts, or in other words a very legalistic attitude towards outward actions. True holiness must begin on the inside with a change of heart by a real "born again" experience. Outward observance to a certain code of conduct enforced by some religious system will never accomplish holy living as outlined in God's word. We are told in (Lev 11:45) "For I am the Lord who brings you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. You shall be holy for I am holy." The world system is for us what the land of Egypt was for them. Salvation literally means separation "from" the world and separation "to" the Lord. Paul tells us in (Col 1:13) that "He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love". Let us consider Paul's exhortation in (Phil 2:15) "that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation among whom you shine as lights in the world". That is certainly good advice, and would be my prayer for each of you today and everyday, as you follow Jesus!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer

A KINGDOM MANIFESTO by Howard Snyder

A KINGDOM MANIFESTO by Howard Snyder----sub-title calling the Church to live under God's reign

A quote from the preface to the book will serve to present the main purpose for it being written. "I'm afraid evangelicalism is infected by the most subtle form of worldliness. It's the worldliness of Hollywood and Madison Ave----we operate as if the only thing worth doing in the world is what we can measure by numbers and dollars. We are not Kingdom of God people." Then a paragraph later "Many people who have been converted to Jesus seemingly have never been converted to the Kingdom He proclaimed" In the preface on page 12 the author states "the theme of this book: The kingdom of God in Scripture and it's meaning for us today." He then goes on to quote E. Stanley Jones on page 13 "The kingdom of God is the master-conception, the master-plan, the master-purpose, the master-will that gathers everything up into itself and gives it redemption, coherence, purpose and goal."

The book is divided into two sections, ----Part 1 The Biblical Promise,--- seven chapters that give us God's promises pertaining to His Kingdom. They are 1/ The Peaceable Order, 2/ The Promised Land, 3/ The House of God, 4/ The City of The King, 5/ Justice for the Poor, 6/ The Age of Sabbath, 7/ The Age of Jubilee.---Part 2 The Present Challenge---four chapters that show us how to live in the Kingdom in our present age. They are 1/ The People of the Kingdom, 2/ The Possibility of the Kingdom, 3/ The Project of the Kingdom, 4/ The Principles of the Kingdom.

He finishes with a Select Bibliography, and several pages of Notes referring back to each chapter. I consider this book to be a Scholarly work, but written for the ordinary person in an easy to follow format. It is difficult to pick out any one chapter of this book that I found most challenging, but probably if I had to pick one it would be chapter 8. In this chapter on pages 81-84 he describes "The Kingdom Community" as what the Church that Jesus told us He would build, should look like.

In another book by this same author called "Community of the King" he describes the church as an "Agent of the Kingdom". Showing clearly that the church is not the Kingdom, but has a very important role to play in helping the world to understand what the Kingdom of God is all about!

Sincerely submitted

Dave Jamer

Some quotes from Derek Prince on holiness

SOME QUOTES FROM DEREK PRINCE ON HOLINESS

Quotes taken from an article in "New Wine Magazine" back in March 1975.

"John Wesley defined holiness as perfect love. However I prefer to define holiness as a combination of God's righteousness and God's love".

"First we are to pursue holiness—we are to make it an objective. Second,
in order to achieve holiness, we must pursue peace with all people".
(Heb 12:14)

"Christ redeems us by His blood, then He sanctifies and cleanses us by the washing of water by the Word" (1 Peter 1:2), and (Eph 5:25-26).

"Sanctification proceeds from the inside, outward; not from the outside, inward".

"The process of sanctification will only be as effective as our faith allows it to be".

"It is the new nature that each believer receives through rebirth that cannot sin". (1 John 5:18)

"The nature of the seed determines the nature of the life that comes from the seed---The incorruptible seed of God's Word produces a nature that is, like the seed, incorruptible." (1 Peter 1:23)

"This new nature is incorruptible and undefeatable. It does not sin and it cannot sin.---If I am defeated, it is because  I am not meeting my problem with the new nature.". ( 1 John 3 :9)

"Satan can only touch the old man,---the carnal nature is the legitimate prey of Satan, but he cannot touch the new nature." (Gen 3:14) NKJV

I trust these quotes from Derek will help shed some light on any discussions on holiness! They did for me!

Sincerely submitted.
Dave Jamer