Victory in Jesus!

But to each one of us grace was given accoding to the measure of Christ's gift. - Ephesians 4:7

What did Jesus do during the three days between His death and resurrection? You might not know this but during that time Jesus led a victory procession. There are great blessings for Christians as a result of the victory march of Jesus.

In Ephesians 4:7-10 it states:

“But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore He says: “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men.” 9 (Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)

These verses describe a victory procession led by Jesus.

Victory in the grace of Jesus.Paul says, “But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift” (4:7). The first benefit associated with this victory procession is “grace.” Grace is God’s provision. It is described by the acronym God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. Grace is what we need from God when we need it. Grace describes God’s sufficient and superabundant provision. Grace is only received as a gift. You can’t earn God’s grace. Salvation is offered by God’s grace through faith in Jesus (Ephesians 2:1-9). We don’t deserve God’s grace. God offers it to us anyway. That’s what makes grace, grace.

Victory with the gifts of Jesus. Paul then speaks of “the measure of Christ’s gift.” Paul is not trying to quantify an amount of God’s grace. He is paving the way to describe various forms of this grace. He is introducing the topic of spiritual gifts and doing that in a wonderful way.

Paul quotes Psalm 68:18 in Ephesians 4:8. He says, “Therefore it says: When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.” These words allude to a victory procession. Battles in biblical times often involved a king leading his army against a fortified city. There were many ways in which such a fortification could be overcome. None of them easy. Some cities, like Babylon for instance, with walls 300 feet high and twenty-five feet thick, were nearly impregnable. Cities were attacked by laying siege to them trying to starve out the inhabitants. Large rolling contraptions were moved up to the walls to allow soldiers to climb over and into the city. Catapults were used to hurl large stones at the walls in order to break them down. And there was always the option of trying to find someone to open the gates of the city from within, (which is what happened with Babylon – see Isaiah 45:1-4).

Once the city was invaded and its inhabitants defeated the king and his men would collect the treasure of the city. The king would then return home riding proudly on his white horse through the city gates followed by his troops in shinning battle array. Following this victory procession of himself and his troops would be a long line of the captives from the defeated city. These captives had no rights and suffered total humiliation in these processions. They were trophies of war. The Romans coined the word triumph to describe these victory processions.

Once the procession made it to the royal palace the next order of business was sharing the treasure. Every citizen was given some token of the king’s victory. This is important in order to understand what Paul is depicting here. Ephesians 4:8 is a picture of Jesus Christ parading to heaven in triumph and as He completes His triumphal procession He gives tokens of His victory, spiritual gifts, to the citizens of heaven, us!

Victory over sin, death and the devil in Jesus. Over whom and what is Jesus victorious? To answer that question we have to know about Hades (NT) or Sheol (OT), the abode of the dead. In Luke 16:19-31 Jesus describes Hades as a place with two compartments; one for the unrighteous; the other for the righteous. Up until the cross of Christ when a person died they would go to either of these places depending on whether or not they were righteous or unrighteous. This was determined by faith in God (Genesis 15:6; Romans 4 and 5). The righteous section of Hades is referred to as Abraham’s bosom. It is here where those who were righteous through faith in God went after death. Up until Jesus actual atoning death on the cross God forgave the sins of those who put their faith in Him and passed over them. This was until they could be actually atoned for on the cross by Jesus (cf. Romans 3:25-26).Until then, they would wait in Abraham’s bosom.

Peter gives us further insight into the activities of Jesus between His death on the cross and His resurrection. In 1 Peter 3:18-19 we are told that Jesus “preached to the spirits in prison who formerly were disobedient . . .” Jesus proclaimed His victory and that His redemptive work was “finished” (John 19:30). Jesus proclaimed to the unrighteous and “disarmed the principalities and powers” (Colossians 2:14-15). He also preached to the righteous OT saints to explain the gospel to them so their salvation would be confirmed (1 Peter 4:6). In doing this Jesus reestablished His just claim on creation and the basis for life changing freedom from sin (see Revelation 5). Jesus was victorious over the devil, death and hell!

To prove His victory Jesus rose from the dead and gave gifts to us; tokens of His victory to the citizens of His heaven (Philippians 3:20-21). With these gifts we follow through to fulfill Jesus words, “on this rock [i.e. the gospel proclamation that Jesus is the Christ] I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). When the apostles were inspired to write the Word and spread it, they proclaimed victory in Jesus. Throughout history when prophets proclaim, evangelists witness, and pastor teachers equip the flock of God, the church moves forward as one united mighty army (Ephesians 4:11-16). Our battle cry is victory in Jesus! I pray the Lord revives that cry and that He gives the lost an ear to hear it. (Pastor Claude T. Stauffer is the Pastor of Calvary Chapel of Hope, 803 County Line Road, Amityville, NY 11703 / 631-224-1761 / shepherdofhope@optonline.net / www.calvarychapelofhope.org).

His Own Love - Part 2

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” – Romans 5:8

God’s own love is our spiritual life blood. God’s own love sustains us through uncertainty. It compels us to reach the lost. It compels us to reconcile divisions. God’s own love is powerful. But how can we define it? How can we understand it so that it can have its powerful impact on us? “Christ died for us.” These words define God’s love. They show us the extent of God’s love. What does the context of this verse show us about “His own love”?

First, God’s own love is superior to the best love the world has to offer (Romans 5:7). People may heroically give their lives for those they view as righteous or good, but God’s love goes beyond anything people in this world have to offer. No matter how sentimental, sacrificial, or love based a person’s love is, it doesn’t measure up to “His own love.” Loving does not save us from our sin. You can’t cancel the wrongs you have done by sacrificing in love. That degrades true love and makes it a filthy rag (Isaiah 64:6). We are not saved by works; no matter how good we think they are (Eph. 2:8-9; Titus 3:5). The sinner can’t love enough to cleanse away their sin.

We just don’t measure up to God’s holy standard. “There is none righteous, no not one” (Romans 3:10). Unrighteousness is breaking the last six of the Ten Commandments: dishonoring parents; murdering or thinking hatefully toward others; committing adultery or having lustful thoughts; stealing; speaking untruthfully; and coveting. This kind of sin is at the root of the world’s problems. Humanity is the culprit. God, on the other hand, in His own love has made a way to overcome the sinful ills of this fallen world. When people shake a fist at God and blame Him for everything wrong with this world, they ought to look in the mirror and consider that all our problems and pains are due to the sinful decisions of humanity in rebellion toward God.

Any love shown by any person, saved or unsaved, is a product of God and His grace (James 1:17; 1 Cor. 15:10). Judgment or justice is getting what you deserve. We deserve the death penalty because of our sins. Mercy is not getting what we deserve. God has made a way to justly and judicially save us from our sins. He sent Jesus to die for us. Grace is getting what we don’t deserve. We receive God’s loving solution to our sin problem in salvation. We receive God’s love poured into our hearts in regeneration (Rom. 5:5).

Second, God’s own love loves even sinners (Romans 5:8). God loves the unlovable. God loves those who don’t deserve to be loved. Sinners are those who have broken the holy law of God. Sinners are those who cause pain to others. Sinners miss the mark of God. Sinners are stained with the tar of sin. They have an indelible black mark of rebellion against God. But God loves sinners and He demonstrates His own love to them. And His love does not rest on words alone.

Third, God’s own love is extremely sacrificial (Romans 5:8-10). It states, “Christ died for the ungodly” (Rom. 5:8), “Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8), “having now been justified by His blood” (Rom. 5:9), and “through the death of His Son” (Rom. 5:10). God doesn’t love with pleasant platitudes. God’s own love acts and goes all the way. God demonstrates His own love to all through the death of His Son Jesus on the cross. A crueler more painful death would be hard to find. It is the spiritual aspect of Christ on the cross that makes His death unmatched in severity. The perfect, sinless, blemishless Jesus, who had never experienced any sin or disconnect from the Father, went to the cross and experienced the full brunt and extent of the penalty of sin; separation from His Father (e.g. Mat. 27:46; Ps. 22). All the filthiness of the sins of humanity were dumped on Him. God did that on the cross. Our filthy sin created a chasm separating us from Him (Is. 59:2). He made a bridge that we might cross over to Him through faith in Christ. It wasn’t the nails that held Jesus to the cross, it was His love for us (Gal. 2:20). God’s own love never fails (1 Cor. 13:8). God’s own love always does what it takes to redeem the lost. God’s own love is substitutionary. The love of God does for us what we cannot do for ourselves (2 Cor. 5:21).

Fourth, God’s own love is always “much more” (Romans 5:9, 10). God’s own love is always “much more” than we conceive it to be. You can’t exhaust God’s own love. You can pray to know the “width and length and depth and height” of God’s love but there will always be “much more” for you to experience and know about it (Eph. 3:18-19). What benefits are there for us who experience God’s love?

God’s own love justifies us from sin by Christ’s blood (Romans 5:9b). Jesus paid the death penalty of sin for us to establish a just legal basis for forgiveness of our sins. The just penalty for sin is death and God’s wrath. But God in His own love provided a way to escape that wrath. The first 5 verses of Romans 5 indicate when we put our faith in Jesus Christ as Savior we are justified before God. That means through faith in Christ we receive a just legal status before God just-as-if-we-had-never-sinned. We are saved from the wrath of God through faith in Jesus. That incredible benefit is the product of God’s love toward us.

God’s own love reconciles us to Him (Romans 5:10a). We were enemies, literally actively hostile toward God. Yet He made a way for us to be reconciled and change from an enemy to an ally of God. This is freely offered to us by God’s grace; a gift. But such reconciliation doesn’t come cheap. It is the result of God in love sending His Son Jesus to die on the cross for us. This reconciliation is like a resurrection; like going from death to life in Christ.

God’s own love provides us a new way of life (Romans 5:10b). Verse ten ends, “. . . we shall be saved by His life.” God’s own love and its impact on us leads to a new way of life. Here we need to pause and consider our response to God’s own love. The apostle John is often referred to as The Apostle of love or The Apostle who Jesus loved (cf. John 13:23; 20:2; 21:7, 20). John was inspired by God to write, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us"(1 John 4:7-12). The only appropriate response to God’s own love is to love like God loves. We are not saved by loving, but the evidence of spiritual life, maturity and power is God’s own working in and through us.

How can we love like that? On our own it is impossible. But Paul writes, “Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Rom. 5:5). The hope we have in God is reliable. God’s love is poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who dwells in the believer. That’s incredible! By the power of the Spirit, we can love like God loves. We can love the weak and the ungodly. We can love in a way that is superior to the world’s brand of love. We can love even sinners and love sacrificially. We can love to the end. We can love in a way that brings reconciliation between enemies. We can love in action, in life. And all of that is reason to rejoice.

Fifth, God’s own love is reason to rejoice (Romans 5:11). The incredible benefits of God’s love give us reason to rejoice in Him. We should sing the Hallelujah chorus with every breath of new life in Christ we take. Because of God’s own love we can enter into a personal eternal saving relationship with God Almighty! For that we should rejoice.

That is a small picture of God’s own love. Remember, it’s always “much more” than we think it is. We could spend a lifetime studying God’s own love and still not fully comprehend it. That would not be a bad way to spend the rest of our existence; experiencing, enjoying and expounding on His own love.

His Own Love – Part 1

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” – Romans 5:8

What is God’s love like? That’s an interesting question. It presupposes that God exists and that He loves. Atheists say that God does not exist. They are gathering momentum and rallying people to their view. Agnostics admit there is a Something or Someone out there, but don’t know what it, He or She is. These views are due to the low view of scripture in the world today. This is not primarily a message on the existence or nature of God. It is a message on the love of God.

Skeptics who accept there is a God frequently say if there is a God He is not a God of love. Critics of God look around at their lives and the world and see pain, suffering, tragedy, injustice, and they use such things as evidence there is no God. They turn a blind eye to sin as a cause of world problems. It’s more convenient and in vogue to blame God for the ills of the world. Their shout is, “God is not loving!” Such an assessment is based on a wrong perspective of the world and an earth-locked view of God.

Solomon in the book of Ecclesiastes grappled with similar things and assessed the world “under the sun” as “vanity, vanity, all is vanity.” At the end of that book he learned you have to look up, through the clouds of this world to find the answer to your questions and the meaning and purpose of life. The wisest man who ever lived, in his own strength, fell short of understanding such things.

The only way to come to true understanding in anything and everything is for God to reach down to us. God condescend and reveals truth to us. We know God because He has revealed Himself to us. He reveals Himself through the inspired revelation of His word (John 1; Colossians 1; Heb. 1). When we look at God’s revelation of Himself we discover, “God is love” (1 John 4:8, 16).

We know “God is love” because He has revealed that to us in His word. But what is God’s love like? In Romans 5 verse 8 it states, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” In this one verse, examined in light of its context, shines a bright light on “His own love.” The love of God is a rich treasure. Let’s look at God’s love through that verse in its context.

“But God . . .” presupposes the existence of God. Look around you at the design and order of the universe and you see a wealth of evidence for the existence of God. Only the darkest skeptic who has been thoroughly indoctrinated in the religion of evolution can deny there is a God. A watch doesn’t just happen, it requires a watchmaker. A painting doesn’t just happen, it requires an artist. Cars, buildings, bridges, space crafts, computers, IPads, IPods, IPhones, and a host of other created things don’t just explode into existence on their own, they are all evidence of engineers who thought them up and constructed them. The orderly universe around us is the same. We didn’t just happen, God the Creator created us.

“But God demonstrates . . .” tells us not only does God exist but He communicates with His creation. The term “demonstrates” means to commend something, to approve it, to present it, to put together like a composition, to teach by way of comparison, to establish or exhibit something. The term was frequently used in society to describe how a merchant lays out his product before prospective buyers. The idea is the seller wants to present his product in comparison to his competitor’s product. God is not distant and unknowable. There are things we just don’t have the capacity to understand. God has condescended to our level and revealed a great deal to us. “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law” (Deuteronomy 29:29). One of the greatest revelations of God to humanity is that He is not a wood or stone god, He is not unfeeling or cold, He is a God of love.

“But God demonstrates His own love . . .” tells us God reveals “His own love.” This is not just any love. The New Testament was originally written in Greek. There are many words in the original Greek of the New Testament that are translated with our single English word love. The word “love” in Romans 5:8 is a translation of the Greek term agape. Agape is used to communicate affection, charity, benevolence, good will, love feast, and love. These words are all good words but they don’t touch the surface of “His own love.” To understand “His own love” we have to turn to His love letter to us. We have to further examine “His own love” in the rest of this verse and its immediate context of Romans 5. When we do that we will see that God’s love, “His own love,” is special, it is holy. What makes God’s love different?

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners . . .” tells us we are the objects of God’s love. And we are not easy to love. That God loves us tells us a great deal about His love. We are described as “sinners.” A sinner is someone who is sinful or full of sin. A sinner has broken and is a breaker of God’s law. Lawbreakers deserve a just penalty and the penalty for breaking the laws of Holy God are His wrath (5:9) and death (Romans 6:23). You might think that harsh and unreasonable but look further from the passage about what a sinner is.

Romans 5:6a, describes sinners as being “without strength.” To be without strength here means to be impotent and powerless. God loves us even when we are feeble and weak. When we are at the end of ourselves and have nothing left in the tank to move on, God still loves us. He doesn’t yell at us when we’re weak. He doesn’t shout at us and say “Come on, suck it up, get up and get going!” No, even in our inherent human weakness, God still loves us.

Romans 5:6b tells us sinners are “ungodly.” The word “ungodly” means, destitute of reverential awe toward God or impiousness. If ever there was a word to describe people today, ungodly is it. People show little to no respect or reverence for the Creator of the universe. Almighty God, the Ancient of Days, the LORD, is viewed and addressed with little to no appropriate respect. Humanity disrespects God outright. An ungodly person is one who breaks the first four of the Ten Commandments. These four Commandments have to do with worshipping only God, not making idols or images of God, not taking God’s name in vain or using it inappropriately and observing a day of rest in the Lord. The ungodly break all of those laws of God. They break them regularly. And yet He loves them.

Romans 5:10 describes sinners as “enemies” of God. The word “enemy” in this verse describes someone who is hateful, hostile, oppositional, and at enmity with God. An enemy of God is someone who is in the camp of the devil (e.g. Eph. 2:1-3).

As such, sinners deserve the “wrath” or just outpouring of God’s anger and vengeance (Rom. 5:9). We have offended and rebelled defiantly against the Creator of the universe and the most Holy God Almighty. We deserve God’s just wrath (Jn. 3:36; Rom. 1:18; Eph. 5:6; Col. 3:6Rev. 14:10, 19; 15:1, 7; 16:1). And yet God has reached out in love to us. Incredible! Magnificent! Merciful! God’s own love!

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” These last words, “Christ died for us,” define God’s love. They show us the extent of God’s love. What does the context of this verse further show us about “His own love”? That is what we will consider in the second part of our study. Until then, let God wrap His arms around you with His own love.

Tactics

Feel like the walking wounded? Wondering how and why you’ve got to this point of defeat? You are not alone. Many Christians feel defeated. We are in a spiritual war. The best way to defend yourself from an enemy and march to victory is to be aware of the tactics used to attack you. Here are just a few of the most common tactics and their remedies. Pray them through to victory.

1. Separation / Divide and Conquer - One of the most successful tactics used by Satan is to divide and conquer. A predator will look for stragglers because alone they make easy prey. A lion hunts by looking for those separated from the herd. Satan is a prowling lion (1 Peter 5:8-9). On your own, you are easy pickings for the enemy. A soldier of one is much easier to defeat than an army that is one. Satan seeks to discourage you with a burden too heavy to bear. Then he tricks you into trying to bear it alone. You may be strong and able to hold out pretty long on your own. But eventually you’ll wilt under the weight of your burden and be crushed. Feel crushed? Then Satan’s tactics are working.

What's the remedy? Fellowship: The Lord has built His church to be a place of burden bearing. We all have loads we are responsible to carry. But there are burdens in life that are too large for any one person to bear. The church is where we "Bear one another's burdens and fulfill the law of Christ" (Gal. 6:2; see Gal. 6:2-5). It's in fellowship where we come together and help each other. It's in fellowship that we find an encouraging word, a word of wisdom, some empathy and understanding. It's in fellowship that Jesus puts His arm around us through others. Don't neglect the fellowship, it can be spiritually deadly (see Heb. 10:24-25).

2. Starvation - The enemy will try and starve you out. He does this by distracting you or making you too busy to spend time in God's word. God's word is our spiritual food (Job. 23:12; 1 Pet. 1:22 - 2:3). Someone has said, "Seven days without God's word makes one weak." Once the enemy gets you in a weakened spiritual condition he ruthlessly begins to attack your thoughts. He discourages you about who you are as a Christian - "You call yourself a Christian? You don't even read the Bible?" He will discourage you about the way you're living. “You did what?” He'll discourage you with doubts. “If God loved you would this have happened to you?” He'll try to get you to buy the lie that there's no hope. “There is no God!” He wants to starve you out spiritually and get you to give up. Don’t let Him do it!

The remedy? Feed on God's word. The Bible states, "For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope" (Rom. 15:4). You can get renewed hope by getting back into God's word (Psalm 119:42, 74, 81, 114, 147). Start with Philippians. Read Psalm 31, 34, 37, 42, 73 for a start. Look up the scriptures noted in this study. Pray about where the Lord would have you dig into His word. But get into it. Even if you don't feel like it. We are to walk by faith not the sight of feelings (2 Cor. 5:7). Find a quiet place, a solitary place; it may be in your car parked. Get alone with the Lord and let Him speak to you through His word (Heb. 4:12).

3. Suffocation - The enemy will try and get you to stop praying. Prayer is the breath of the Spirit in us. When we pray we breathe spiritually. If the enemy can get you to stop praying, he will suffocate you spiritually. He wants you to react in your own strength. If he can get you reacting on impulse he pretty much has you. When we react to our circumstances rather than seek help from the Lord we act in weakness and usually make things worse. The result is defeat.

The remedy? Satan trembles when he sees the weakest saint upon their knees. "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" (Phil. 4:6-7). Prayer should be our scout. Prayer is our line of communication with the Commander of our souls Jesus. Prayer is our rear guard to protect us from ambushes. Prayer is our declaration of dependence on God. Prayer brings Almighty God into our life equation. Prayer is an invitation to God to help us. Pray!

4. Stagnation - God's people were built to worship. Therefore, the enemy wants to quench the song God has put in your heart. Sometimes he will do that by drowning out the song of the Lord in your heart with other music or static. He may try to shout you down. He wants to make you like a canary that's lost her tune. He wants to take the heart right out of you.

The remedy? Worship the Lord! Worship is an act of faith. Worship is an incredibly powerful spiritual weapon. There are instances in the Bible where God used His people’s worship to defeat the enemy! (see 2 Chronicles 20). When the enemy comes in like a flood, let the Spirit of God raise up a standard against him (Isaiah 59:19). "I will bless the Lord at all times, His praise shall continually be in my mouth" (Psalm 34:1). Take a step of faith and begin to worship the Lord.

Satan is also called "Lucifer" and it is likely that before his fall he was in charge of worship in heaven (see Ezekiel 28:13-14). He is therefore, very adept at using music to attack us. He uses a song or tune to bring to mind something in our memory that is less than holy, discouraging, dark and he weaves his web of lies to ensnare us. Don't let him do it! Answer with God's Song Book of Psalms. Put on some good worship music. Literally sing and worship the Lord. To the enemy, your song to the Lord is like nails scraping on a blackboard. He can't stand it. "Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you" (James 4:7).

We are in a spiritual battle. God has given us weapons to fight with so that our situations can be brought under control and the enemy can be defeated (2 Cor. 10:3-5; Eph. 6:10-18). Remember one all important truth in this battle - THE ENEMY IS ALREADY DEFEATED - "having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it" (Col. 2:14-15). Satan our enemy has been defeated. We are only fighting skirmishes. When Satan tries to discourage you, just remind him who the winner is, Jesus. If he brings up your past to discourage you, bring up his future to defeat him. Fight the good fight of faith!

Would You Consider?

Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. - 1 Corinthians 4:1


Dear Friends,

This blog is a ministry. From time to time it is good to assess ministry in order to be a good steward of the time and effort involved in its upkeep and to determine the leading of the Lord.

In order to gauge the direction in which the Lord is leading would you consider joining the membership of the Shepherd of Hope blog site?

Would you consider inviting others to become members of this site? This will enable me to determine the direction in which the Lord is leading.

Joining the blog site will give you an automatic notice when a new teaching or other material is posted. It will also help gauge the audience which the site is reaching. This will give a better indication about what materials are most appropriate to minister to those interested in the site. It will also help in considering how to broaden the ministry field.

To join the blog just click the button on the right side of the blog site and follow the instructions. It's very easy.

I would also welcome your comments and suggestions about how to better the site and make it more helpful and God glorifying.

If you choose not to join the blogsite, would you please give the reason for your decision.


Even if you choose to disregard this request, would you also consider praying for this ministry venture in faith?

You are appreciated and I pray the Lord directs you to join me in this ministry. God bless.

in His service, by His grace, for His glory,

Pastor Claude

Allow God’s Peace to Rule You – Part 2

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. - Colossians 3:15

Peace within the parameters. Paul says the peace of God should “rule” (βραβεύω - brabĕuō, brab-yoo´-o) or arbitrate, govern, prevail in our hearts. This is the only occurrence of this word in the Bible. The peace of God plays a very practical part in life. Paul exhorts his readers to let the peace of God rule in our hearts. The grammar of this verb (Present / Active / Imperative) means always, make it your aim, to see it as essential to let the peace of God rule your heart. The peace of God should be like a referee in our hearts. If our peace is violated in some way we should see it as a referee throwing a penalty flag. The person who acts, even though they have an uneasiness or disruption of the peace of God in their heart, is a person who is stepping out of bounds. That person will not have the peace of God.

What are the parameters or boundaries within which we find God’s peace? God’s peace is found when we live within the parameters of His word. We see this in the great Psalm 119 which is a description of the blessings and value found in God’s word. In this Psalm it states, “Great peace have those who love Your law, and nothing causes them to stumble” (Psalm 119:165; cf. also Prov. 3:1-2). When you live within the parameters of God’s word, even if trouble befalls you, you know you are right with Him. All that really matters in life is that we be right with God. Everything else is secondary to a right standing with God. When we live right in obedience to God and His word it leads to peace (cf. Isaiah 32:17). There is a rock solid problem defying peace for those who make being right with God the top priority in their lives.

Peace and the will of God. God’s peace is a tangible way to discern God’s will. We should act and move and make decisions based on God’s peace. If we act and there is an unsettledness in our hearts we should stop and seek God’s peace asking Him to help you discern where you have missed His will. If we are inside God’s will, there will be a peace that guides us. It is never wise to disregard an uneasy lack of peace when making decisions. The wise route in life is to pray through until you have God’s peace in a situation.

If you think you have God’s “peace” and you are knowingly disregarding or disobeying God’s word, this is sin. This is not God’s peace. “Peace” experienced outside of the parameters of God’s word is sin and a false peace. Remember, the peace of Christ is not a peace as the world gives peace, it is peace that comes through faith in Him and living within the parameters of God’s word. In fact, such a false peace may be a symptom of a greater danger.

False peace may be due to a desensitizing or deadening of the conscience because of sin. When we disregard God’s word, rebel against it or disobey it, the consequence is that we become calloused and less sensitive to the Spirit’s voice. You may think you have God’s peace, but if you are acting or living in sin, it is a false peace. In our day, homosexuals, lesbians, prostitutes, extortioners, greedy, and others live in sin wand feel no conviction for their sin. This is a symptom of a deeper spiritual problem.

Absence of God’s judgment is not God’s peace. God is longsuffering and patient not willing that any should perish (2 Peter 3:9). He may use “goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering” with the sinful as a means to lead them to repentance (Rom. 2:4). Those who perceive this to be “peace” are relying on a false peace. True peace of God is only experienced by those living within the parameters of God’s word. Any sense of “peace” in those living in sin is deception by the enemy and a false reading of God’s dealings with them. The consequence of relying on a false notion of peace is that eventually a person will reap what they sow (Gal. 6:7-9). God is not long mocked or defied by those who would excuse themselves from abiding in His word.
There is pleasure in sin, but that pleasure is temporary (Heb.11:25). Eventually the consequence of sinful living will come to bear. Sin always results in some kind of death (Rom. 6:23a). True peace dies in the presence of sin. If left unattended there are eternal consequences. Better to receive the free gift of salvation in Christ (Rom. 6:23b).

Paul wrote Timothy that spiritual callousness would exist in the latter days (e.g. 1 Tim. 4:1-2). People will have a “form of godliness” that may be cloaked in a false peace, but it will prove powerless in the end (2 Tim. 3:5). Those who persist in living a sinful lifestyle in disregard and rebellion against God and His word may have been given over by God to their sin (cf. Rom. 1:24-32). That is a dangerous place to be. The Bible speaks of those who get to a point where ”they could not believe” (John 12:39). Such a destination is reached in part by way of a false sense of peace that excuses sinful living. It would be better to walk in God’s sin exposing light, fellowship with Him and receive deep cleansing from your sin from the blood of Jesus (1 John 1:7, 9).

Faith always involves risk. Risk can make us feel uneasy or not at rest or peaceful. But if we are acting according to God’s will in faith, no matter the circumstances, the peace of God, “that surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” That is God’s promise.

In Colossians 3:14 Paul has just instructed us about love which is “the bond of perfection.” When we are bound to God by His love, when we are held in His arms of love, we are at peace.

In relationship with Him, God provides His peace to help us through life now. Charles Ryrie, in his book So Great Salvation, tells a story of a Father and child that illustrates the practical nature of peace with God.

The 3-year old felt secure in his father's arms as Dad stood in the middle of the pool. But Dad, for fun, began walking slowly toward the deep end, gently chanting, "Deeper and deeper and deeper," as the water rose higher and higher on the child. The lad's face registered increasing degrees of panic, as he held all the more tightly to his father, who, of course, easily touched the bottom. Had the little boy been able to analyze his situation, he'd have realized there was no reason for increased anxiety. The water's depth in ANY part of the pool was over his head. Even in the shallowest part, had he not been held up, he'd have drowned. His safety anywhere in that pool depended on Dad. At various points in our lives, all of us feel we're getting "out of our depth" -- problems abound, a job is lost, someone dies. Our temptation is to panic, for we feel we've lost control. Yet, as with the child in the pool, the truth is we've never been in control over the most valuable things of life. We've always been held up by the grace of God, our Father, and that does not change. God is never out of his depth, and therefore we're safe when we're "going deeper" than we've ever been.

Paul concludes his call to let peace rule with the words, “to which also you were called in one body.” Such love and peace unite fellow believers. We are bound by the perfect binding substance of God’s agape love. And we live in harmony together as we let the peace of God rule and guide us. For that we are to “be” (γίνομαι - ginŏmai, ghin´-om-ahee ) cause to be, become “thankful” (εὐχάριστος - ĕucharistŏs, yoo-khar´-is-to) or grateful. The form of “to be” (Present / Middle – Passive Deponent / Imperative) means we ought to always cause ourselves to actively be thankful. Paul knew the tendency of people to not be thankful. We should never forget or take for granted the peace of God that so clearly guides our hearts in life. It is a vital and cherished way God communicates to us. It is an aspect of the loving fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives (cf. Gal. 5:22). Let the peace of God rule and guide you!

Barak Obama: Friend of Israel?

Frequently President Obama claims to be a friend of Israel in his statements. This is not something that Israel or her friends can afford to take at face value. Actions speak louder than words. While we do not know completely what takes place behind the scenes, we do see that the actions of the president do not support his verbal claims.

God has promised to bless those who bless Abraham's descendants, which would include Israel, and curse those who curse Abraham's descendants, which would also include Israel (cf. Gen. 12). Israel is also the only democratic state in the Middle East. Therefore, on a spiritual/eternal and temporal/political basis, we should be supporting our "friend" Israel. Israel is surrounded by those who lust for her destruction like a pack wolves over a lamb. (We would have to admit that this lamb has sharpened teeth. God has blessed this tiny nation with knowledge and wisdom, as well as political savy and a topnotch military.) A sense of common decency, reason, and justice should move us to support Israel who is vastly outnumbered.

Israel exists in a dangerous neighborhood. She is so vastly outnumbered that truly, if a consorted attack were made by her enemies against her, only the hand of God could protect her. Scripture indicates that God will indeed protect the apple of His eye (Zech. 2:8; e.g. Ezek. 38-39; Rev. 19). Scripture also indicates that a time will come when no one, no nation will stand with Israel (Rev. 19:19; Joel 3:9-17; Zech. 12:1-9). If the United States is now deserting her "friend" then it should not surprise us. It should concern us though. Not because Israel is left without a single nation to support her, but because if we do desert Israel, we will suffer as a nation who has crossed the line into the camp of the enemies of Israel, who is God's special treasure.

I would encourage you to watch this 30 minute video and ask prayerfully where our national leadership is leading us and this nation. Then also ask, is that a direction you want your nation to go? We know that in the end every nation will be against Israel. But it doesn't have to happen on our watch. There is still time for we and our nation to humble ourselves, pray and seek the LORD, repent and ask forgiveness of God for not only our wavering stance in support of Israel, but for all the sin we have fallen into as we have drifted further and further away from the LORD (2 Chron. 7:14). Revival may not be likely, but it is possible. As long as we have breath, as long as the LORD tarries, their is hope. Until the LORD says otherwise, pray for the peace of Jerusalem, support Israel, and pray for a heaven sent revival for God's people and this nation. Pray:

Oh, that You would rend the heavens! That You would come down! That the mountains might shake at Your presence - As fire burns brushwood, as fire causes water to boil - to make Your name known to Your adversaries, that the nations may tremble at Your presence! - Isaiah 64:1-2