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Sermons Record as Spoken by Pastor Jack
CHOICES
I would like to ask you a question tonight before I begin: What is common
to a story and to our lives? The answer; simply this: Our lives, like
stories, have a beginning and they have an end. Like a story, in between
the beginning and the end, there may be a long time, or a short time.
I am really thinking of eternal things tonight and eternity is on my
heart. "Father, by the Holy Spirit, you just know everyone who
is here tonight. I believe that you have placed these thoughts on my
heart for divine reasons. And so let there be an impartation by the
Holy Spirit. We need your help. Spirit of God, as we seek to share eternal
truths tonight, just unfold from your word - not in flowery words, but
with the power of the Holy Spirit - to go down deep into our hearts
and into our lives."
Folk, in between the beginning of our lives and the end of our lives,
what is going to make a whole world of difference in this life and in
the future is - choices. On the 28th of last month I spoke on the power
of choices in our life, and I wish to continue along the same vein,
with some other thoughts, tonight. And so choices is going to make a
whole world of difference in this life and also to our future. The things
that we choose - the things that we choose to do, the things that we
choose not to do. The attention that we give to people; the attention
we give to detail; the choices that we make; the responses that we make,
when good things happen, and when bad things happen - choices, in our
life. It is so vitally important for us to know the blessing of God
and God's direction, and God's detail in our life in relation to choices.
I am going to share in a moment regarding an e-mail that I received,
not too long back: but before I do, I wish to just remind you of a verse
I quoted from a fortnight ago: Deuteronomy 30:19, "I have set before
you, life and death: blessing and cursing; choose life, that you and
your seed may live." The greatest future for you and for me and
for our descendants is connected with the choices that we make, now,
in life. This e-mail that I just mentioned, is sad in relation to the
effects that a wrong choice that a young guy made - the effects that
it had upon his wife and upon his children and upon other people.
According to this message, on "Watch E-mail", this guy made
a terribly wrong choice, and the wrong choice carried with it terribly
sad consequences. And so, this guy unfortunately did not take notice
of what the Word of God says, when it says, "Choose life, that
you and your descendants may live and enjoy life." Bud Hancock
wrote in this e-mail: "Recently I attended a funeral of a gifted
and a caring young dad, who had made some bad choices. In his hopelessness
he made the final, fatal choice of ending his own life. The shock, like
a huge earthquake, shook his friends and family without warning. All
present at that funeral were keenly aware of the fragility of life and
the critical choices that determine whether time here is our friend
or our foe. God has given us the freedom to make choices, but we cannot
choose the consequences of those choices. In this case, the choices
resulted in a life snuffed out, children left fatherless, a grieving
wife, family, and friends."
I am sure that you and I - each one of us - have been around long enough
to just see the results of choices like that, of people who have taken
their own lives, feeling that there has been no other way out. And so
they have chosen to snuff out their life - and what an eternal choice
they have made, what a bad choice in relation to this. Choices are important.
God gives you and I the opportunity to make good choices in life. So
that we will be blessed, we will be changed, and our descendants after
us.
Here is a tabulation of a case study that was done in the United States.
Back in the 1960's I first came across this. The effect of choices -
destiny is all tied up in choices. This story is of two men - Max Jukes
and Jonathon Edwards. We are going to look at Jonathon Edwards in just
a moment, but we will look first at Max Jukes. Max Jukes was a non-believer
in the gospel of Jesus Christ. He was a man who was not interested -
Godless, not God-fearing. (Also, his children wished to go to the house
of God - wished to go to a place of worship - he refused to let them
go.) So Max's descendants and his wife - both ungodly people - they
had 1,900 descendants over 5 generations, and generally they all followed
this ungodly example. 300 children died from neglect. 400 had social
diseases. 771 were known criminals. 39 were murderers. 190 were prostitutes;
and 300 were chronic paupers. God said, "Choose life, that you
and your children may live." When people make the opposite choice,
it has an onflow - a downflow effect - on those that follow them, as
well. For instance, with Jonathon Edwards; let's look at him. Jonathon
Edwards was a preacher who not only believed in the Gospel, and loved
God, but he ensured that, week by week, Sunday by Sunday, his family
was in the house of God - had a Godly influence upon their lives. And
so, he was used of God in bringing revival to America, and the case
study showed, in relation to him, that he had 1,400 descendants over
5 generations; (these guys both lived about the same time) - ok - they
lived in New York Sate. 120 were Yale graduates. 165 graduated from
other colleges. 100 were college professors. 13 were college presidents.
300 were ministers and missionaries. 100 were lawyers. 80 were elected
to public office. 75 were officers of the navy or army. 60 were prominent
authors. 30 were judges. 3 were U.S congressmen, and 1 was a vice-president
of the U.S.A.
It has to do with choices - making right choices, in our life and our
living. God says, again, let me repeat, from Deuteronomy 30:19, God
speaking, saying, "I have set before you life and death; blessing
and cursing. Therefore, choose life, that you and your descendants may
live."
Folk, the Bible, and also that particular case study - human experience
- show that powerful choices make for powerful outcomes. God says, "Choose
life; choose blessing; choose the area of God's best way; choose to
be a God-pleaser, choose to hold on tight when things are going against
you; to that which God has entrusted into your life." I would like
you to turn with me, if you have your Bibles, to Hebrews 2, verses 1,
2 & 3. Here the writer of Hebrews says, "Therefore we must
give the more earnest heed to the things that we have heard, lest we
drift away. For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast,
and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, how
shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?"
Here the Word of God says that every single one of us without exception
need to hold fast to what God has granted and to what God has given
into our life. Lest we drift away from the security of that eternal
Rock, Jesus Christ. Here it is also saying to us that we need to give
more earnest heed to the things that we have heard. Here it says, how
shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?
Choices are so vitally important in your life and my life, and I am
sure that every single one of us here realize that powerful choices
result in powerful outcomes, either for good or bad, in our lives and
also in our living.
Bud Hancock wrote this, further, in that e-mail that I quoted from
before. He said, "In a few years or less it will not matter what
kind of car we drove, what movies we saw, what endless hours we spent
entertaining ourselves, what kind of house or neighbourhood we lived
in; it will not matter how much money we made, or saved, or how many
plaques or trophies we have accumulated. It will not matter, how many
toys we treasured, stroked and polished. What matters, when all is said
and done, is our relationship with God and others; and what we have
done with that which God has given us."
Jim Elliot, who gave his life to reach a remote tribe of people in
South America - actually, in Ecuador - said these words (I'm sure you've
heard them): "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain
what he cannot lose."
Choices. Choices. Choices. What we do with our life. How we invest
the time, the days, the hours, the minutes, and so on. And everyone
of us here tonight, without exception, knows the reality of life's greatest
choice, that is to receive the gift of that great eternal life that
God has offered to us in His wonderful Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. God
gave reference to it back in the book of Deuteronomy. I wish to read
from verse 20, just over from that verse 19, where God said, "I
have set before you life and death; blessing and cursing: therefore
choose life, that you and your seed may live." And listen to the
very next verse, verse twenty; "Oh, that you and your descendants
may live, that you may love the Lord your God, and that you may obey
his voice, and that you may cling to Him." Three things are distinctly
spoken about there. We won't go down that track, but listen to what
it then says: "For he, for he, this God, is your life, and the
length of your days." He is your life, and the length of your days.
And life's greatest choice, as we know, each and every one of us tonight,
has been in our individual lives, the time when we said, "God,
you have sent your son, representing the whole Godhead, Jesus Christ,
who came and stood upon planet Earth and said, "You can come to
the Father through me."" We acknowledge the truth of what
John wrote in his letter to the Church, when he said, "In Jesus
is life. He that has the Son has life; he that has not the Son of God
has not life." And thank God for the opportunity that you had,
and that I had, with life's greatest choice, to say, "I receive
this one, Jesus Christ, who brings me into fellowship with the Father,
where I come into the family of God." And then we have come to
realize, folk, life's second greatest choice: in the words of the Lord
Jesus: "The greatest commandment is to love God with all of our
heart, with all of our mind, all of our soul, and all of our strength,"
the second, that we might "love our neighbour as ourself."
And so, a life that is not centered around ourselves, choices that include
others, where we don't isolate ourselves, we don't withdraw and say,
"It's me, it's us; it's just our lives, and our family that counts,"
but where there is an overflow to reach out to include others.
Folk, I have, one other time, showed this to you - ok - "Because
I am totally dedicated to God's idea of blessing others, I will always
win, because Jesus in me will never quit." The heart of the Son
of God is for others. Hallelujah! From what we have received, there
will be an overflow out into the lives of others. There will be the
choice that we make, so that when there are times when we need to choose
- "Is it just me, or is it others to count in?" - we decide,
oh, hallelujah, "he is no fool" (as Jim Elliott said) "who
gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." Powerful
choices that we are called to make…
Like Abraham, saying, "God, you have called me. God, you have
called me, to come out of the familiar." Where Abraham obeyed the
voice of God, and God said, "Come out from among your kindred and
people, come out." The "called out one", the "Hebrew
one". And where he chose to obey God, to come into new territory,
to come into new areas that God was bringing him into - something fresh,
regardless of the cost, and regardless of having to give up what they
had in the city life, and going out as bedouins, out in the desert and
out in the wilderness areas, to obey the call and the voice of God,
"not knowing where they went". A choice that he made. And
for your life and for my life, folk - it's so involved with and made
up of choices - remember Moses - Hebrews 11 - when he came to maturity,
he chose to give up the pleasures of the palace of Egypt and the easy
lifestyle, he chose to give up the passing pleasures of sin, and to
throw in his lot with the people of God. Choices that he had made. Choices
in relation to God's call upon his life. I remind you again of that
scripture in Joshua 24:15 where Gods says, - or rather, where Joshua
says - "Well, you can choose this god, or you can choose that god;
but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. This is the choice
that I am making." Hallelujah! "This is the choice that I
am going to make, and I am going to stand by it. As for me and my house,
we will serve the lord." As for me and my house, we will serve
the Lord!
I encourage you to keep that as a daily confession of your life, for
members of your family and for other people as well, who are not walking
in the ways of the Lord. To confess that as a daily word confession.
Hallelujah. I believe that there is something eternal, and something
established in the heavenly, in what we believe in our heart, and we
confess with our mouth. Believe it for your family. "As for me
and my house!" - the choices that we make, affect our descendants
after us.
Folk, very briefly, as I draw my thoughts to a conclusion, in relation
to powerful choices with powerful outcomes, how does it affect how we
live, where we live?
When we are God's children, we need to be prepared to make good, powerful
choices. I began to list some choices that I would like to personally
keep on making, in this year and the years ahead.
Number one, I choose to make Jesus Christ the king in the realm of my
desires. I wish to make him king, I wish to keep him king. Therefore
all other desires have to bow to the kingship of Jesus Christ. My desire
for him is top priority. Hallelujah. That is going to be Number 1 and
so any other desire that conflicts with it needs to be set on fire and
burned and got out of my life. And this is my desire - "God, I
am pursuing Jesus Christ" - and so desires that come into our lives
- you know, when people do you wrong, and when people do things to you
and say things to you - isn't it a natural outcome that we want to retaliate,
and we want to do to them as they have done to us? But God's way is,
number 1 desire, to bless. "Because I am totally committed to God's
idea of blessing others, I will always win, because Jesus in me will
never quit."
When desires come that are lustful, that are impure, folk, what am
I going to do with them? My top, number 1 desire is Jesus, King, hallelujah,
I am pursuing after you! And so this desire that comes across my path,
or comes into my mind, or the thought that the enemy would like to shoot
into my life - oh, hallelujah, in Jesus' wonderful name, is going to
get the chop, because the Word of God says, in the book of Phillippians
4:8, "Whatever things are good, whatever things are pure, whatever
things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, whatever things
are of virtue, whatever things are praiseworthy - meditate and think
upon those things."
And so the choices that I am making - and I call you to make similar
choices - is, Jesus, number 1, the kingly desire of my life, as king
of the desire that I allow into my life, and into the area of my meditation.
Secondly, another choice is that I am going to be - with the grace
and the help of God - a thankful, grateful, praise-giving person - instead
of being mean-spirited and grumpy and whinging and fault-finding. What
is the Word of God, in that same verse I quoted before, Philippians
4:8? "If anything is praiseworthy, think and meditate on these
things" - and so, this choice that I am making in my life, hallelujah,
and have been making, and desire to keep on making, is, "God, I
am going to be a praising, thankful, grateful type of person."
Thirdly; I choose to hang in there and become a conqueror rather than
giving in easily and giving up without a fight. What does Paul say?
"Fight the good fight of faith." Husbands and wives - those
that are married - fighting with your husband or your wife isn't a good
fight. Guys, you usually end up losing, don't you? Ok. Fighting the
good fight of faith. Fighting means, "Hanging in there". It
means 'stick-ability'. It means endurance. It means, just hanging on,
when it's hard even to hang on - instead of giving up. And folk - ok,
I'm the same as you, with human desires and so on, and I've got to confess
that the times when I have sinned and failed God is when I have given
up too easily and too quickly, instead of fighting the fight of faith.
Instead of hanging on there. I think it's correct, and English teachers
and different other ones here can correct me if this isn't correct,
but I think it was the old city of Constantinople, many years ago, in
the Middle Ages, that was being attacked and was being besieged, and
there came the time when the people on the inside of the city of Constantinople
said, "Ok, with our water supply and with our food supply and with
our armaments we can only last another 30 minutes." They began
to talk about giving up and surrendering to the besieging forces on
the outside. During that 30 minutes, they suddenly noticed - some of
the lookouts - suddenly noticed that the army began to pack up and began
to retire and began to disappear over the hills. It was found out later
- by some deserters from that besieging army - that they had said, on
the outside, during this particular time when they were considering
giving in - "We will never win. They will never, ever, surrender.
We may as well pack up, get on our way, and go home." And, oh folks,
you and I are sometimes inclined to give up in the area of temptation,
when the enemy is niggling and nagging, and thoughts are coming our
way, and we are inclined to give up too soon, when we are just about
there in relation to God's intervention on our behalf. What does 1st
Corinthians 10: 13 say? Oh, that God is faithful - there is no temptation
(test or trial) given to a person, where God is not able to give a way
of escape, that we might be able to bear it. God is faithful. God knows
how much we can endure - how much we can take. God is interested in
us being overcomers and going over the top. And so, "Fight the
good fight of faith." Hang in there.
So, thirdly, choose to 'hang in', and become a conqueror, rather than
giving in easily and giving up without a fight.
And then, fourthly and lastly; I choose to be a God-pleaser. Not a
man-pleaser. Not a crowd-pleaser. Not pleasing this person or that person.
Not even primarily being a husband pleaser or a wife pleaser, but number
1, being a God-pleaser. I don't know about you, but I desire, I long
for the constant presence of my Father. A sense of God's closeness and
intimacy, and just the very presence of God - that's what my heart is
desiring, wanting more and more. I am reminded in the Scriptures in
John 8:29 where Jesus said, "The Father hasn't deserted me, because
I do always those things that please Him." And so, choices that
you and I make are important in our life and living.
"Father, thank you that you are the God who has given us free
will. You have given us the opportunity of choice in our life. You want
us to choose that which will bless us, that which will change our lives,
that which will change our family, that which will have an effect for
good and with consequences that will bring blessing upon or descendants
as well - sons, daughters, parents, whatever our particular situation
may be - husbands or wives - God, we want to choose, we are asking for
your help. Alone, we can't do it, we can't do it by ourselves. Holy
Spirit, we need your help. You have come as the great helper. And so,
in this week, Lord, in life experiences, when we are faced with particular
choices that we need to make - and, oh, God, there is always an enemy
that wants to whisper in our ear in relation to a particular choice
on a particular thing - whatever it may be - but we are asking, Holy
Spirit, that we will hear louder and that we will hear clearer, the
voice of the Holy Spirit, saying, "This is the way: walk in it;
choose to walk in this way." In Jesus' wonderful name. And so,
Lord, we thank you, that not only have you given us the freedom of choice,
thank you Lord that you haven't left us alone with a rotten Devil who
wants to wreck our lives and wreck our future and wreck our descendants'
lives as well. But God, we thank you that you have sent the Holy Spirit
as a great comforter - helper; the one who is beside us; the one who
is within us. Oh, God, we have got so much going for us. Help us to
be God pleasers. Help us to be - bless us, we pray - help us to be people
who are praisers; people who are grateful, people who are thankful,
in our life and living, in Jesus' wonderful name. And what we have experienced
in our lives, like Peter and John at the temple gate - Lord, they didn't
have this or that that the man who was lame wanted - but they said,
"Such as we have we give unto you." And let there be an outflow
of the blessing of God upon the lives of others through our lives and
through our witness and through or words. Oh God, we pray; on our homes,
on our streets; in this community; towards the lives of those we touch,
that you bring across our paths; what we have, of the choices we have
made, of coming to you; and of finding that great salvation, that will
overflow into the lives of others."
GOD'S MAJESTIC NAME
It was a number of years ago - the 1970's - that from the surface of
the moon the American astronaut took out of the pocket of the spacesuit
he was wearing the Book of Psalms, and he began to read. They were the
first human beings to see an earthrise. Not a sunrise. Not a moonrise.
But an earthrise.
As the earth rose over the surface of the moon (Psalm
8):
"O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in
all the earth! Who hast set thy glory above the heavens.When I consider
thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which
thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the
son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little
lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honor. Thou
madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put
all things under his feet: All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of
the field; The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever
passeth through the paths of the seas. O Lord our Lord, how excellent
is thy name in all the earth!"
Living Translation: "O Lord our Lord, the majesty
of your name fills the earth. Your glory is higher than the heavens."
New International Version: "O Lord our Lord, how
majestic is your name in all the earth. You have set your glory above
the heavens."
The Message: "God; brilliant Lord; yours is a household
name!"
If you go to the very center of Africa: if you go to many parts of
Asia: if you go to South America: the name, Coke, is so prevalent. Everybody
knows about Coke. A lot of these places as well - a lot of these places
on planet Earth - you hear the name MacDonald's - people know exactly
what you are talking about. There is coming a time, the Word of God
says, and it shows you and I exactly - that all of these names of various
products upon planet Earth, all the names of the major statesmen that
have been and the leaders of countries - whoever the world leaders are
at this particular time - there is coming a time when all these well-known
leaders, and these people who have risen to prominence for various reasons
and various causes and so on, and the products that we have upon Earth
that we use that are so well-known around the planet Earth - the names
of the products and the names of the people are going to fade and they
are going to pale into insignificance - they will be forgotten in a
few short years. But the name of the sovereign God of the universe -
your God and my God - the God of the Bible, the God of our Lord and
Saviour, Jesus Christ, his name passes on, unchanged, full of meaning,
full of truth, full of an ability through which you and I can experience
so much of the goodness of God as we realize what his name means and
also who he is - the one who stands behind his name, from generation
to generation. People will rise and will go - products will come and
then will fade away, superseded by new products - the Word of God says
(Psalm 8) "0 Lord our Lord, how excellent, how majestic, is thy
name in all the earth!" And this God that is spoken about here,
that is mentioned with his great name, is not the Allah of the Muslim
world - this God that is being spoken about in the Word of God- this
God of the Bible- this God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ - is
the God who is eternally existent - the three persons in the one Godhead
- the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit - (Romans 1:20) "For the
invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen,
being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power
and Godhead ". So this God, whose name is Excellent, this God who
is majestic in all of the earth, is a God who is a being that we can't
quite fully understand - we will understand in the future - he is the
one spoken about in the book of Deuteronomy (6:4): "Hear, oh Israel:
the Lord our God is one Lord". The Lord Jehovah, the self-existent
and eternal one, our God, our Elohim - our Gods (in the plural) - the
Lord Jehovah (singular) - is one, so the Lord Jehovah our God Elohim
is one in a singular form, he is one and he is only one and we don't
fully understand regarding the being of God, but God said, "this
is who I am, I am the God of the Bible." I want to just remind
you that whereas the record of history and the record of human experience
on our planet earth is of men in positions of power and nations etc
- there is a competitiveness that comes between those who feel that
they are of equal power and of equal strength and there is nation against
nation, there is family against family, there is individual against
individual, there is man against man, there is leader against leader
- but such is not the heart of God. Equally the Father, the Son, and
the Holy Spirit. And yet there is not a competitiveness in the Godhead.
There is harmony beyond human understanding in the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit - praise God, you and I experience it. The Bible
speaks of something at the coming of the very end of the age at Jerusalem
when there will come streams of living water that will pour out of the
city and it says in Zechariah (14:9): "And the Lord shall be King
over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name
one". The Lord is one and His name one, "This God," the
psalmist says, "His name is excellent, His name is majestic,"
"Who," Zechariah says, "in the future his name shall
be one, and there will be one Lord." This God in the plurality
in the Godhead; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Between the three persons
in the Godhead there is a oneness, there is a great unity of mind and
of purpose and of heart in this wonderful Godhead, so that they perfectly
complement and they add to each other. So different to Mankind on this
planet - they don't seek to pull each other down, but the Father seeks
to exalt the Son; the Holy Spirit seeks to exalt the Son; and the Lord
Jesus seeks to exalt the Father and seeks to exalt the Holy Spirit as
well. Praise God, what a unity there is in the persons in the Godhead,
in this one God that we worship, whose name is Excellent, whose name
is Majestic.
For instance, so satisfied, so pleased, so appreciative, and I can't
think of all of the adjectives we could use there - with the life and
the death and the work and the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ as
he hung upon Calvary's cross - outside Jerusalem's city walls - so pleased
and so satisfied was the Father and the Holy Spirit with the sacrifice
of the Son, that it says in Philippians 2:3 & 8, (after we are told
of Jesus' self - humbling of himself, the laying aside the glory of
his part in the Godhead, his humble taking of human form) - so pleased
and so satisfied was the Father and the Holy Spirit, that he was given
a name that is above every name, so that the God whose name is Excellent,
whose name is Majestic - now, with his Son, shares and exalts His name
above every name - the name of Jesus - and now, every knee - your knee,
my knee, the knee of every person upon planet earth - should bow, and
that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. He now becomes
the Lord over things in Heaven, things in earth, and things under the
earth.
I wish to bring this - what I have been sharing so far - down to where
we live, the street where we live - to your experience and to my experience.
How does this apply to you, as an older person or a younger person,
how does it apply to me, that God, the great God of the universe, the
God & Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord Jesus with a high
and exalted name given by the Father now - how is it real to me, what
is the application to us in day-to-day living?
Firstly:
1.) You and I have the privilege to receive from this great God all
the greatness that his name embodies, all that it holds. God wants you
and me to receive the benefits of his now exalted name. It's practical.
For instance, in the area of God's great salvation - I want you to come
with me as we look at a couple of Scriptures in relation to names and
salvation and how it applies to you and to me. You see, the name Buddha,
Confucius, the Dali Lama and Mohammed, do not carry the weight that
the name of Jesus, the Lord Jesus Christ, carries in eternity. You know,
very interesting, that you hear people, when they blaspheme, they never
blaspheme the name of Buddha - at least I have never heard them - or
Confucius. I had a guy when we lived in ----, from up the top of the
hill, that came down the hill, and his motorbike was sputtering, and
just out the very front path outside our place, it sputtered and it
died, and I just went out to see if I could be of any help. And this
young guy there, he began to let out expletives, and he began to use
the name of Jesus in blasphemy. And something stirred in my spirit -
his name was something like Rob. I said, "Rob, I'm sure you never
say that about Buddha. You never say that about Confucius. You never
- hey, that's the name of my best friend, and he's meant so much to
me, and he's changing my life." Folks, it's in the name of Jesus
- and Jesus alone - that we have salvation. Remember in Acts Chapter
4, there's Peter and there's John, and they have been taken by the soldiers
that came from the palace of the high priest; they have been taken and
they are being interrogated and a little while later on they are told
not to teach or to preach in this name - in the name of Jesus. In the
midst of it, Peter raises his voice and he speaks to them, and he speaks
to them of Jesus Christ, of his death and his resurrection, and he makes
a statement (in Acts 4:12): "Neither is there salvation in any
other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby
me must be saved." That's both inclusive and its exclusive. Its
exclusive because no one else other than Jesus, Jesus of Nazareth, the
Lord Jesus Christ, and his name, brings salvation into our life. It's
inclusive in that it means that every single one of us can call upon
his name. Hallelujah! The name of Jesus - the salvation that he embodies,
and that stands with him.
Think with me of the Apostle John. He was a buddy of Peter who served
back there in the Temple forecourt or the temple courtyard of the high
priest. Later in life he records that Jesus said these words: "As
many as received him, to them gave he right and privilege to become
the children of God, even to those who believe in his name." Salvation
is tied up in a name. "Those that believe in his name." And
so the whole Godhead now - the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit
- the God who's name is Excellent and Majestic - says, "Hey, there
is a way to us, and it is through this name, the name of Jesus."
The Lord Jesus Christ. Hallelujah! So God's offer of eternal life is
wrapped up around him, and God says to us that we can live forever.
To Joseph, the angelic personage said, "You will call his name
Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." And so salvation
is all wrapped up in this person. Jesus said to Nicodemus in John 3:18;
"Who does not believe in him is condemned already, because he has
not believed in the name of the only begotten son of God."
What's in a name? Eternity, when its connected with Jesus Christ the
son of the living God. Eternal living in God's Heaven, future. Eternal
life in Jesus.
And so folk, tonight, if you haven't put Jesus' life into your life,
then you'd better get cracking. The Word of God speaks so to you and
me. The majority of us here tonight say, "Oh yes, praise God, I
have committed my life to this one who's name is Jesus." God says
"Rejoice in it, hallelujah!" Don't just sit there; rejoice
that your names are written in Heaven. Our names are affected because
of this name. The precious, living Son of God. And so, we have the privilege
to receive abundantly from a great, majestic excellent God, the God
of the universe.
We also have a responsibility - to live to the honor of that name -
the name of him whose name is Excellent, who is majestic. There is a
responsibility that comes to every single one of us. We confess our
faith in Christ, in the name of Jesus, and so, as God's 'kids', God
says, "You have a responsibility now to bring glory, to bring honor,
to add something to this majestic name" - by the way that we live.
God requires of you and I, to carry his name before others, to do so
"24 - 7" - for God to reign in our lives.
I go on a month's holiday - and Ruth and I have just been - "Okay,
Lord, we will come back later and pick you up when we have had a good
time, when we have lived how we wished, according to the leisures and
pleasures of life?" Holiday time - whatever time - not just Sunday
time. God says: "No; through the week - okay? - through the week"
We don't live as people who are mean: people who are mean-spirited.
We don't live as people who are dishonest, in our business, in our daily
life, in our home life. We are not to be people who are angry and mean
and untruthful and deceitful and impure and immoral - you know. Monday
to Saturday and then, we put on a halo, and we come to church, and we
say, "Well, listen to me, look at me, folk!". Hey, it's 24-7,
seven days a week. God, let me bring honour and glory to that name that
is Majestic, that is Honourable, hallelujah, that is Excellent - by
the way that I live.
I wish to remind you of the words of Jesus in the Beatitudes (Matthew
5:6 & 7). Jesus said, "Let your light so "- everyone say
with me -"so. Let your light so shine before men." Jesus didn't
say, "Okay…ah…maybe… ah…okay… in the area
that…," you know, "that they may see our dishonesty,
and they see our anger outbursts or untruthfulness or whatever it may
be. But that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in
Heaven."
I don't know about you, but I want to be amongst those - and I believe
I am amongst those - that are saying tonight, "Oh, God; Oh God;
God of the Bible, God and Father of my Lord Jesus Christ; the God of
eternity; Hallelujah; the God whose name is Glorious; your name is Majestic;
your name is Excellent; and God, I just wish to add something, by the
way I live, '24-7', to the glory of your wonderful name."
No sense of irreverence as I share this: he wants us to be "chips
off the old block," folk. You know what I mean. He wants us to
be as 'cool' - to put it in younger terminology - 'cool' like the Heavenly
Father is 'cool' - Oh, God says, "Just live by me". I don't
know about you, but I was blessed a couple of days ago as I read in
'The Word for Today' - and I am sure some of you have read it - in case
you didn't, let me read from Thursday, 18th January. "Small Seeds,
Big Harvest." Pastor Tony Evans. " I was born and raised in
inner city Baltimore. By the time I was about 10, my parents looked
to be heading for divorce. Then one day everything changed. Someone
witnessed to my father and he accepted Christ. My father developed the
habit of getting up at midnight, praying that God would save his family.
This went on for some time. One night my mother came downstairs to the
living-room when my father was praying. She began crying even before
she reached the living-room. When my father asked what was wrong, with
anguish and tears she said the unforgettable: "The worse I am to
you, the better you are to me. So whatever you have must be real. How
can I have it too?" My father led my mother to Christ. Not long
after, my parents led their 4 children to Christ. I was the oldest.
I was saved at eleven. I felt the call to be a minister, by the time
I entered my teens. I was totally ministry oriented by the time I was
18." Since that day, Tony Evans has built a great church in Texas,
preaches daily on hundreds of radio stations, and reaches multitudes
for Christ each year.
Folk, just so living before his wife and his children, that they saw
his good works, and they too came to glorify his Father - your Father
and my Father - in Heaven. Hallelujah. I like the statement I have read
on a ministry publication recently: "Make his praise glorious."
Ephesians 1:12 says to me and says to you, that now that we are in the
family of God, now that we belong to Christ, that we now should be "to
the praise of his glory."
Father, thankyou, in Jesus Wonderful name, thankyou, that you whose
name is Glorious and Majestic, that you didn't keep that to yourself,
but you wanted to share your love, and yourself, with others. And so
you created Mankind and Womankind upon planet Earth, that you might
have someone, Lord, to share your love and your grace with. We thank
you that though Mankind, and segments of Mankind, reject your love -
don't feel that it's necessary - yet we thank you that, through your
grace, and through your goodness, that, Lord, you have given each and
every one of us here the opportunity to be able to say, "God. God,
out of your glorious name you have given and you've sent your Son, Hallelujah,
whose name is Saviour, whose name is King, whose name is Lord, the Lord
Jesus Christ - and, God, thankyou for the opportunity that each and
every one of us have, and, oh, in varying experiences and times in our
life, and Lord, in human living here upon this planet Earth, so many
of us have said, 'Yes, yes, yes, Jesus, I want you to come into my inner
space. You come from 'outer space' that you might dwell in my inner
space and that you might change me and that you might fill me with God's
salvation - and oh, Lord Jesus, thankyou for this privilege."
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Extract
from the writings of the late Kenneth E. Hagin Snr (referenced below)
[Editor's note: the following may seem an unattainable goal. It does,
to the Editor! But God expects us to aim at the 'unattainable' - and
sometimes, in his grace, he gives us a man who lives, before our eyes,
that attainable goal! When reading the following, keep in mind that
the lifestyle of healing and success of (guess what? - the Texan) K.
E. Hagin, was an everyday product of the invisible miracle and self-control
that enabled it to happen. Hagin was an extremely premature child in
a depression family abandoned by its father. Five doctors concurred
that he would die before adulthood. On his deathbed, the youth experienced
death three times. He got off his deathbed with no medicine other than
the Authorized Version of the Bible. Even then his future seemed to
be poverty and ongoing health problems. He awoke every day with the
knowledge that the only thing between himself and death was his trust
in God. He was totally self-controlled - for example, he purposefully
ate only two meals a day, rather than three. He was verbally and on
rare occasion, physically, attacked, but never retaliated. He lived
to the age of 80 in full health, successfully fulfilling his vision
to impact the world! When the 20th Century is judged, no-one will be
able to say that God didn't provide undeniable examples of how life
should be done!]
The Bible encourages us to make the love of God our great aim and our
great quest in life. There must be a reason God wants walking in the
God- kind of love to be a priority in our lives. Actually, there are
wonderful benefits and good results that come when we walk in love.
For example, I have walked in divine health for more than 57 yrs. The
last headache I had was in August, 1933. Well, it's too late to start
having headaches now! I'm not bragging on me; I'm bragging on Jesus
and on his word.
Now don't misunderstand me. I've passed up some marvellous opportunities.
The last headache I can remember that tried to attach itself to me was
in 1977. I had just pulled out into the street from our offices at Rhema.
Suddenly my head started hurting. I said, "No, you don't, Satan!
You have to leave in Jesus' Name." By the time I turned the corner,
it was gone. That's the last time I can even remember passing up an
opportunity to have a headache.
In all these years, I've never been sick unless I've missed it somewhere,
either in the love walk or in obedience to God. Every step out of love
is sin. Every single time I missed it, I repented just as fast as I
could and got back into love and obedience.
Normally, the minute I repented, I was healed. I don't mean I had to
wait several days for the symptoms to clear up. I was either immediately
healed or well on the way to recovery.
For more than sixty years in the ministry, I have said that if my faith
didn't work and my prayers weren't answered, unforgiveness is the first
place I would look. I'm not saying that all sickness and disease
is caused by unforgiveness. I'm just saying that's the first place I
would look.
Now don't misunderstand me at all. If folks need medicine, they should
take medicine - under a doctor's supervision of course. In fact, I've
sent some folks to a doctor when they needed it and even bought them
medicine. And if I needed an aspirin I'd take it if I couldn't get healed
any other way.
But, you see, the benefits of walking in love are so good, I want you
to get in on them. The benefits include health and healing. The best
time to get in on it is while you're young, so you can enjoy the blessings
and the benefits of walking in the God-kind of love all the rest of
your life.
I'm very careful about walking in love. Love is God's way to prosper
- spirit, soul and body. Walking in the God-kind of love is the way
to prosper in every area of life. Love worketh what? Love worketh no
ill to his neighbour. That means to anyone. And that should be especially
true among Christians.
Let's look at a verse of scripture that talks about the rewards of
walking in love. Walking in love is walking in godliness, isn't it?
When you read this in First Timothy, substitute, 'walking in the God-kind
of love', instead of the word, 'godliness'.
Bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable
unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that
which is to come. 1 Timothy 4:8
Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, wrote this to Timothy. This isn't
just Paul speaking. This is not man's idea. The Holy Ghost said
this to Christians everywhere through the Apostle Paul. God is
telling us that godliness causes us to profit.
We would do no injustice to this Scripture to read it this way: "Walking
in love is profitable unto all things". Why does the Bible say
that bodily exercise only profits a little? Because it only has the
promise of paying off in this life.
But the Bible says that godliness is profitable unto all things. When
is godliness profitable? Is it only profitable when we get to Heaven?
No, it's profitable in this life and also in the next life.
Therefore, godliness or walking in love is profitable throughout our
lives. But if we live for God now, and walk in the God-kind of love,
it will also be profitable to us when we get to Heaven.
Living for God means keeping God's Word. If you are going to live for
God, you've got to keep his commandments. Well, under the new Covenant,
what commandments are you supposed to keep? There is only one, and it
is the law of love!
Therefore, walking in the God-kind of love is profitable. Walking in
love pays off. It pays off not only in this life, but also in the life
to come.
I've preached and practiced Mark 11:23 and 24 for more than fifty years.
And I've acted on the spiritual truths Jesus quoted in these verses
with amazing results.
But right along with the Mark 11:23 and 24 I've also practiced verse
25 about forgiveness. All of my Christian life, I've always refused
to harbour the least bit of animosity, ill will, or wrong feelings toward
anyone.
If the least bit of ill will or animosity toward anyone tries to creep
into my heart, I get after it! I won't entertain it for a moment. I
wouldn't entertain that kind of wrong thinking anymore than I would
entertain the thought to steal from someone or to kill someone. Wrong
feelings toward others will do me damage.
I would be just as careful about allowing unforgiveness and animosity
in my heart toward another person as I would about drinking poison or
handling a rattlesnake. Unforgiveness and wrong feelings toward others
are more deadly than any poison or rattlesnake bite!
I believe that's one reason I've been able to walk in what I call divine
health for many years. Now I'm not bragging on me. I'm bragging on Jesus
and what the Word will do!
But that's why you'll never hear me criticize my brother or a fellow
minister. No one has heard me criticize others in more than fifty years.
I won't do it!
Sometimes I'll offer some constructive criticism. But, you see,
destructive criticism is wrong. But constructive criticism is
meant to help folks. And even if I do offer constructive criticism,
I don't call anyone's name.
I'll tell you one thing about walking in God's best: If you wish to
walk in health, you are going to have to walk in love and keep your
tongue!
Peter tells us how to practice what the Word says about walking in
love.
Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another,
love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous. Not rendering evil for
evil, or railing for railing, but contrariwise blessing; knowing that
ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.1 Peter
3:8&9.
The Amplified Bible says, ".......sympathizing [with one
another], loving [each the others] as brethren (of one household), compassionate
and courteous --- tenderhearted and humbleminded".
That's the God-kind of love in action.
Sometimes it will take some effort on your part to walk in love. You'll
have to keep your tongue under subjection to the man on the inside who
is created in the image and likeness of God.
For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain
his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile. Let him
eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it. 1 Peter
3:10&11.
Peter was quoting Psalm 34 when he said that. The psalmist knew that
he would have to keep his tongue from evil so his voice would be heard
on High.
What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that
he may see good? Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking
guile. Depart from evil, and do good: seek peace, and pursue it. The
eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto
their cry. Ps.34:12-15.
Have you ever stopped to think that your tongue has a lot to do with
the quality of your life? It also has a lot to do with how long you
live on this earth! And it has much to do with whether or not the days
you live are good days or bad days. What you say has everything to do
with enjoying a long, good life!
The secret of enjoying life and seeing many long, good days
is contained in 1 Peter 3:10: ".... Refrain your tongue from
evil....." Love always refrains from talking evil. Love speaks
no guile or evil about others, and the God kind of love seeks peace
with every person.
You won't be able to harbour unforgiveness in your heart and talk about
others if you wish to see many long, good days.
Those days when you are sick are not good days, are they? Sometimes
when people are sick, even though they have been thoroughly grounded
in the truth of the Word and they make all the right faith confessions,
they have difficulty getting their faith to work for them.
They have faith, but they can't seem to get their faith activated.
Well, why isn't it working? The first thing they should examine is their
love walk. Are they harbouring ill-will or unforgiveness in their hearts?
Are they speaking evil about others? Are they criticizing and back-biting
others?
"For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his
ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against
them who do evil." 1 Peter 3:12
We could read this verse like this: "The eyes of the Lord are
over those who do right." We could also read it like this: "The
eyes of the Lord are over those who walk in love, and his ears are open
to their prayers."
You see, there are no hindrances to your prayers when you are walking
in the God-kind of love! But the Bible says, ".... The face
of the Lord is against them that do evil........" Every step
out of love is sin. We could also read this verse, "The face of
the Lord is against those who speak evil about others."
How does a Christian sin? By not walking in love. By talking about
others. We could put it this way: Every step out of love is doing evil.
Love worketh no ill to his neighbour. Love refrains from speaking evil.
Love - God's love - would never say anything bad about anyone.
When you criticise others and speak evil about them, you are sinning
because you are not walking in love.
I remember an incident that happened years ago when I was just a young
man, pastoring a little church in North Texas. In a large metropolitan
city about 45 miles away, one of the ministers got into some difficulty
and was dismissed from his denomination.
Later during a sectional convention in our church, one of the district
superintendents preached in the morning service and mentioned the situation.
Although he didn't mention the minister's name, we all knew who he was
talking about. He condemned him and preached him right into hell, so
to speak.
Well, some of the men who couldn't be in that morning service asked
me about it later on. They asked, "Brother Hagin, what do you think
about it? Was that minister right in what he said about that other minister?"
I said, "Why yes, I concurred with him."
Well, about two weeks after that, my wife's parents came down to visit
us. They lived out on a farm about 40 miles away. My wife and two children
went home with them after the Sunday night service. I was going to drive
up there and join them after I attended to some church business.
So my wife and my children were gone, and I was alone in the parsonage.
I listened to the news on the radio (we didn't have television back
then).
The parsonage was an old house that was built before in-door electricity
was available. When it was wired for electricity, they just put a chain
hanging right down in the middle of the room to turn the light on and
off.
When I was ready to go to bed, I just reached up to turn the light
off, and then knelt by the foot of the bed and prayed. Suddenly the
whole room lit up! The Bible talks about a light Paul saw that was brighter
than the noon-day sun. This light was bright like that. The whole room
lit up brighter than when the light was on, and I could see every piece
of furniture.
And then out of the bright light I heard these words, "Who art
thou that condemneth another man's servant?" I knew it was the
Lord.
I said, "Lord, I didn't condemn your servant." I knew immediately
who the Lord was referring to.
He was talking about that minister who had gotten into trouble.
The Lord answered me again by saying ,"Who art thou that condemneth
another man's servant?"
I repeated, "Lord, I never condemned your servant."
Then the third time the Lord said, "Who art thou that condemneth
another man's servant?"
I said the third time "Lord, I didn't condemn your servant."
The Lord said, "Didn't you say,....," and then the Lord quoted
what I had said about that minister.
Well, you get in a situation like that and your flesh sometimes wants
to take over. You remember when Adam got into trouble, he tried to shift
the blame to the woman. Then when that didn't work, he said, "This
woman which Thou gavest me." Really, he was trying to blame
everyone else so he wouldn't have to be responsible. The flesh always
desires to blame someone else.
I said, "Lord, I was just quoting the district superintendent."
The Lord said to me, "When you repeated it, that was tantamount
to your saying it. Who art thou that condemneth another man's servant?"
When the Lord said that, he just sort of knocked the props out from
under me. So then I said, "I thought that minister was wrong. I
mean didn't he do wrong?"
The Lord never told me whether he had done wrong or not. But he asked
me a question. He said, "Whose servant is he, Mine or yours?"
I said, "If he is anyone's servant, Lord, he is Yours. He sure
isn't mine."
The Lord said, "Well, if he is my servant, then I'm able to make
him stand." And, you know, the Lord did just that. The Lord made
the man stand, and that fellow went on to become the most outstanding
minister in that part of the state. He was very well respected, even
though he had missed it that one time in his past.
Who are we to criticize the Lord's servants! Sometimes it's the things
we say about other people that cause us ill health.
I had another experience along this same line. My wife and I held a
meeting down in east Texas in a Full Gospel church. We were going from
that meeting to a convention that our denomination was holding.
One of the ministers in that part of the state had gotten into some
difficulty, and he had to leave the church. I asked someone, "What
did he do?" And the person told me what the minister had done.
Well, without thinking, I just said, "It looks to me like anybody
with any sense would know better than to do that." I never thought
anything else about it. My wife and I closed that meeting, and we went
on our way to the convention.
Now ordinarily I walk in divine health; I just feel good all the time.
But during this convention, I just wasn't up to par physically, and
I couldn't sleep at night. Normally by the time my head hits the pillow,
I'm asleep.
I made all the right faith confessions, and I believed I received my
healing, but I still didn't feel good physically. On the third night
of the convention, I still couldn't sleep. I said, "Lord, if I'm
feeling like this tomorrow I won't be able to go to the meetings. My
body is about to give out."
I got out of bed and got on my knees and started praying. I remembered
something Dr. Lilian B. Yoemans said. She was a medical doctor who at
one time had become addicted to drugs. She became sick and really just
went down to death's door. But then she got saved and God raised her
up from a deathbed. She then spent the rest of her life preaching about
divine healing.
Dr Yoemans said, "If I pray and don't get results, I start changing.
Why? Because there will have to be a change somewhere before the answer
can come, and the change won't be with God, because God never changes."
I remembered reading this statement by Dr. Yeomans, so I started changing.
I'd been making all the right biblical confessions and saying all the
right things, but I still hadn't improved.
Finally, I said to the Lord, "Lord, what is wrong with me? I haven't
made my faith connection with You."
The Lord spoke to me and said, "Didn't you say so and so about
Brother ....," and the Lord called this pastor's name.
I said, "Lord all I said was, 'It looks like anybody with any
sense would have known better than to do that'."
The Lord asked me a question. He said, "Do you know what pressure
he was under?"
I said "No."
The Lord asked me, "Do you know the circumstances that surrounded
this situation?"
I said, "No."
The Lord said to me, "If you'd been in the same position, you
might not have done as well as he did."
With tears, I said, "Oh God, forgive me. My God, please forgive
me. I repent."
Do you know that as soon as I repented, I was instantly well. It didn't
take me time to get healed - I was instantly made whole! I got into
bed and slept soundly for the first time in several nights.
You see, there's a principal here. We can't criticize and judge the
other fellow because we don't know the circumstances and the pressures
that the person may have been under that caused him to act as he did.
We don't know what made him do what he did - only the Lord knows.
Its situations like this that taught me to keep my mouth shut about
criticizing the Lord's servants. It's so easy to criticize the other
fellow. But we may not have done as well as he did under the same circumstances.
The Bible says, "Judge not, that ye be not judged."
That's why we can't judge, or we will be judged by the Lord.
There are some believers who are always criticizing others and spreading
gossip. For example, someone once said to me, "Did you hear what
happened? That preacher had an affair with his secretary."
"He did? But it looks like God is really blessing him and his
church. When did this happen?"
"Oh, about twelve years ago."
"Then why are you talking about it now! That shouldn't be told
about him. That's a lie the devil told on him because that man repented
and got right with God. So that sin has been blotted out by the blood
of Jesus.
"It's in the sea of forgetfulness. God forgot about, and if you're
going to walk in love, you've got to forget about it, too, and not go
around talking about it!"
Did you ever read in the Bible, "And above all things have
fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude
of sins" (1 Peter 4:8)? It also says "Hatred stirreth
up strifes: but love covereth all sins" (Prov. 10:12).
Love is not out uncovering sins; love covers sin. I pastored nearly
twelve years. I saw certain things about certain church members, but
I never told anyone, not even my wife. Why? Because it may have damaged
them.
You may say, "But they did wrong." But most of the time those
folks came to themselves and said, "Dear Lord! How did I get into
this? Lord, please forgive me." And they got right back out of
it.
But if I'd gone and told it, then everyone would know, and every time
they looked at the person, they'd think about that. And then the devil
would try to bring it to their remembrance too. No!
Love covers a multitude of sins!
But so many times people have a hard time forgiving and forgetting.
For example, I was holding a crusade in a certain city when news broke
out about a certain minister. Someone asked me what I thought about
it.
He asked, "What do you think about what happened to So-and-so?"
I just said, "I have no comment."
"Oh, really?" he said.
Then I added, "Putting out the other fellow's candle never brightens
your own."
I'm not going to put anyone's candle out. I'm going to try to light
if I can! Dear friends, if we want to walk with God, we've got to walk
in love because God is love!
Extracted from "Love the Way to Victory" by Kenneth E. Hagin
Snr (1996), Kenneth Hagin Ministries, PO Box 50126, Tulsa, OK, 74150-0126.
This is an essential book for every serious person of the 21st Century.
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We
prove the Bible by experience?
Out
of it we have both won! He proved God's power and faithfulness to free
him from his downward life spiral and disability. God enabled us to
speak into his life in his down experiences, both of God's love for
him and of our love for him. We proved that when applied, God's love
is the greatest force on earth, greater than life's biggest obstacles.