Forgiveness

8/20/11

Greetings,

If you’ve never heard about a woman named Corrie Ten Boom then it’s time you did! She has an incredible story of forgiveness, which is the topic of discussion this week. The fact of the matter is that unity among the body of Christ requires forgiveness. We are all human, and even the most spiritual among us do things that can be offensive or hurt others. If we refuse to forgive offenses, we effectively refuse God’s ability to work forgiveness in our midst.

Corrie Ten Boom was a World War II Holocaust survivor. She was taken to a concentration camp for hiding Jews in her house during the Nazi occupation of Holland. I need not go into the details of all that she faced while she was there. Her whole family was imprisoned, but both she and her sister were sent to the notorious Ravensbrück concentration camp. Corrie survived while her sister did not.

She became a preacher after receiving a miraculous deliverance from the concentration camp. After some time had passed, her preaching took her back to war torn Germany. On one occasion she was speaking in Munich on the topic closest to her heart—forgiveness. After she finished, a man made his way to the front to talk with her. It was none other than one of the most abusive guards from Ravensbrück. This was a man she was forced to stand before naked, shamed, and starved. The flood of memories caused Corrie’s blood to stand still. Although he did not remember her, she remembered him. Nonetheless, he asked to hear it from her mouth that he was forgiven for the sins he had committed as a guard. She did.

Her testimony is so powerful because it shows the limitless power of forgiveness. Some of us have a hard time forgiving the driver that cuts us off in traffic. Yet the power of forgiveness is as infinite as God Himself. There is no offence that is beyond forgiveness, and Corrie Ten Boom is an incredible illustration of this fact. How can one forgive another human being that showed only abuse, torment, and utter disregard for their humanity? The answer is only through the power of Christ.

As Christians, we can never get away from the fact that Jesus came so that we could be forgiven. Sure He came to heal us, to set the captives free, to give sight to the blind, and so forth. However, all of these other works are meaningless apart from our forgiveness and reconciliation to God. Jesus even explained that he healed so that men would know that He had power on earth to forgive sins.

“And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house. Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them. Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.” And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, “Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, “Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up your bed and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the paralytic, “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”” (Mark 2:1-12 NKJV)

It is clear from this account that the purpose for healing the paralytic was to prove that Jesus had the power to forgive sins. He came to forgive us. How often do you go out of your way to forgive someone else for all the offenses they have committed against you? The ultimate call of Christians is to be lovers of God and men. However, this rests entirely upon our ability to forgive like God forgives. Quite frankly, it is impossible to allow the love of God to flow through us towards someone we refuse to forgive. The un-forgiveness not only blocks God’s love flowing out of us, it puts us in bondage as well. Furthermore, we have a clear warning in scripture.

“For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” (Matthew 6:14-15)

Forgiveness isn’t an option for Christians. It is a requirement. It doesn’t matter what’s been done to us or how horrific the abuse has been. Corrie Ten Boom proves to us that nothing is beyond God’s ability. With His power at work in us, forgiveness is possible in any situation. With Christ you can forgive the friend that turned their back on you. You can forgive the employer who treated you unfairly and unjustly fired you. You can forgive the mother that didn’t protect you. You can forgive the partner who walked out on you, who abused you, who cheated on you, or who blamed you for every problem they have. You can forgive the person who molested, or even worse, who raped you. With Christ, all things are possible.

“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” (Philippians 4:13)

Forgiveness is required for unity in the body of Christ. When we forgive, walls come down and we find deliverance. We find a new ability to embrace God’s love towards others and we walk free of the oppression that un-forgiveness enforces. When we release forgiveness every relationship in our lives will see improvement because it allows old wounds to be healed. If you have been harboring un-forgiveness, today is your day to forgive!

Discussion

1.       Are there individuals that you made a point to decide you wouldn’t forgive today?

2.       Are there individuals that you know you have to forgive after reading this letter?

3.       What prevents you from forgiving both lists of individuals from questions one and two?

4.       How do you think God feels about your answer to question three?

5.       Are you ready to forgive both lists of individuals? If so use the following format speaking the prayer out loud.

Father, today I choose to forgive (name) for (list each individual offence they committed against you). Thank you that as You have forgiven me, I have forgiven them. I receive Your healing from every wound they have caused me. I pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Sin

8/13/11

Greetings,

In my letters I usually spend a lot of time talking about concepts that are new, revolutionary, and often challenging. However, sometimes it is necessary to hit on concepts that are not new or exciting. Sometimes we need to get down to the bread and butter—so to speak.

It is my conviction that one of the greatest barriers to true unity is personal sin. That’s right; we are going to spend this entire letter discussing sin. The fact of the matter is that when a believer who is on fire for the Lord tries to be around a person that is under guilt or condemnation because of un-dealt with sin, it often leads to problems. The guilty party, in an attempt to cover their issues, will often reject or even lash out at the man or woman of God.

So what constitutes sin? Sin in a theological sense means to miss the mark. Imagine a target board with a bull’s eye. Sin is like when a person shoots an arrow and the board and misses the target. The target is the standard spelled out in the Word of God. Anything that comes short of this is sin.

Sin is your enemy. It’s an enemy of God as well. God doesn’t hate people but He does hate sin. Consider what he says of the deeds of the Nicolaitanes in the book of Revelation.

“But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate.” (Revelation 2:6)

Who were the Nicolaitanes and what were the guilty of? They were a sect of Christians whose primary theological error was that they believed things done in the flesh had no effect upon the health of the soul or spirit. In other words, they believed that once a believer received the free gift of salvation by grace through faith they became free to sin in whatever capacity their heart desired. God hated their deeds. The following is an extraction from a Wikipedia article about them:

Hippolytus of Rome states that the deacon Nicolas was the author of the heresy and the sect. Several of the early church fathers, including Irenaeus, Epiphanius, and Theodoret mentioned this group. Irenaeus discusses them but adds nothing to the Apocalypse except that "they lead lives of unrestrained indulgence.” Victorinus of Pettau states that they ate things offered to idols. Bede states that Nicolas allowed other men to marry his wife and Thomas Aquinas believed that Nicholas supported either polygamy or the holding of wives in common. Eusebius said that the sect was short-lived.

There are many Christians today that come to the conclusion that sin is okay. They justify it, nurse it, and come up with religious excuses for it if necessary. However, when unity takes place according to God’s agenda, the removal of sin and the institution of unity will go hand-in-hand. Consider one of my favorite passages:

“Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13)

Is it possible to come to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ while nursing an addiction to pornography? What about the Christian who is having sex with two or three people while they can’t conclude which one they love more: their spouse, their boss, or the children’s nanny? Give me a break. It is easier for a passionate Christian to watch gold dust manifest during a prayer meeting than to unite with a group of Christians that have major issues with sin. I say this literally.

The following passage gives us a list of sins that are defined as sin in the New Testament. Let’s take a look.

“Now the doings (practices) of the flesh are clear (obvious): they are immorality, impurity, indecency, Idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger (ill temper), selfishness, divisions (dissensions), party spirit (factions, sects with peculiar opinions, heresies), Envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you beforehand, just as I did previously, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Galatians 5:19-21 AMP)

                I used the Amplified Bible in order to make this passage read as clearly as possible. For some reason when it comes to sin, Christians quickly begin to get confused. In order to bring a little further clarity let’s take a second look at verse 19 from the King James Bible:

“Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness” (Galatians 5:19)

I would like to do a word study on each and every one of these offenses to God but space simply does not permit me to do this. Here’s the point: Get the sin out of your life. This is my three-step plan for success.

1.       Admit that what you are doing is wrong and repent.

2.       Ask God for His grace to never want to do it again.

3.       Repeat steps one and two every time you sin until the sin stops.

It is wrong to get drunk. It is wrong to curse at others including your spouse. It is wrong to entertain perversity and this includes pornography. It is wrong to have sex outside of marriage because this is fornication. It is wrong to commit idolatry by putting your children, your job, or you car before God. It is wrong to practice witchcraft even if the activity is a “family tradition.” It is wrong to give into jealousy and lash out against another Christian because their anointing or relationship with God makes you “uncomfortable.” The sin must stop in order for true unity to enter in!

Discussion

1.       What is God convicting you of right now?

2.       What is the three-step plan for getting sin out of your life?

3.       Can true unity come without dealing with sin?

4.       Who were the Nicolaitanes?

5.       Does God hate the sinner or the sin?

Vision and Unity

8/6/11

Greetings,

                This week we are going to discuss the power of vision as it pertains to unity. There are three types of vision. One is the kind that we have because of our eyes. For many people this is the only type of vision they have. If they see a golden brick and you ask them what they see, they will tell you they see a golden brick. It they see a pile of cow dung and you ask them what they see; they will tell you a pile of cow dung.

                Although this is a type of vision, it is not the most important type of vision. The Bible talks about something called the eyes of our understanding.

“The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints” (Ephesians 1:18)

The eyes of our understanding allow us to have greater sight. They allow us to have vision of spiritual realities and potential. This kind of vision is far beyond the vision that our eyes will give us. When someone has true vision, they can sit in front of a golden brick and when asked what they see, they will tell you that they see a resource. When they sit in front of a pile of cow dung and you ask them what they see, they will tell you fertilizer.

This is the kind of vision that God wants us to have. When we don’t have it, it’s actually offensive to God. This is what God was referring to when He said:

“Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not” (Jeremiah 5:21)

How can a person have eyes and not see? It isn’t because their physical eyes don’t work; it’s because they have no vision. The eyes of their understanding are shut. However, once we get beyond the vision of our physical eyes there are really two additional types of vision. There is limited vision, and then there is God’s vision. Both of these are better than no vision, however only one requires God.

There have been many visionaries throughout history that have done great things without God. Conversely, there have been many Christians throughout history that have done nothing even though they had God. Do you see a problem with this picture?

Some people believe that Christianity consists of saying a prayer of conversion and becoming a faithful attendee of a church. Is attending a church regularly a vision from God, or a beneficial habit? The answer is that it is a beneficial habit. God never intended your faith to climax at a weekly church service. God has a vision for your life that you are responsible to pursue. In light of this, many people wonder why there are so many problems in the church. Consider the following passage:

“Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.” (Proverbs 29:18)

Visionless Christianity is a death wish.

Now that we have established the importance of vision in regard to our faith, we are going to consider it in light of unity. Whenever any great societal or cultural change came about, it required people. It may have started with a few visionaries, but ultimately many people wound up creating the change that the visionaries saw. It is impossible to execute vision without generating unity. I have a vision to bring about unity in the body of Christ. However, the purpose isn’t the unity in and of itself. There is a greater purpose and a greater vision.

Many people have no idea what this world is about to face. Continual increases in earthquakes, tornadoes, fires, and various other types of natural disasters including famine are coming (Matthew 24:6-8). In addition to this, the trans-humanist agenda is pushing the boundaries of “what it means to be human.” The development of enhanced humans having genetic enhancements, synthetic biological implants, robotic components, nanotechnology that impacts them on the cellular level, and artificial intelligence uplinks, are quickly becoming science fact. Of course, we will eventually see the rise of an antichrist figure who will seek to enforce satanic principles and agendas upon the world.

A change is coming to the world, and ultimately there is going to be a great divide between light and dark. Unity within the church will be required to successfully transition into the darkest age humanity will ever see. Part of this transition will involve the agenda of creating sheep nations—entire geographies where the kingdom of God reigns in the hearts of men. This is why my vision is to promote unity in the body of Christ worldwide and assist in the creation and development of sheep nations. I see what is coming, but I also see God’s solution.

In this hour God is giving larger and larger visions to those that will listen. These visions will ultimately produce God’s vision for the church. It is spelled out so clearly and so plainly that it is impossible to miss. However, it is so big we know it can only come from Him.

“Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13)

Discussion

1.           What kind of vision do you have: none, limited, or God’s vision?

2.           Why do you believe this is the type of vision that you have?

3.           What do you think you need to do in order to expand your vision?

4.           What is visionless Christianity?

5.           What is God’s vision for the church?

Love According to John part 3

7/30/11

Greetings,

                For the past two weeks we have been discussing 1 John and the shift in paradigm that his writings force upon us. While we are inclined to look at things from the natural first and then consider the spiritual, his writings look at the spiritual first and then consider the natural. We have also come to understand that in every case that he talks about the topic of love, he is speaking in reference to the love of God—agape. This is a love that can neither be generated nor counterfeited. It has its source in heaven and must enter into the earth through us.

                In order to make the concept of God’s love a little easier to understand, we are going to employ some examples. These examples will help us to conceptualize how we are to interact with and embrace the love of God. We need to understand what we are after and sometimes it is not enough just to hear something.

                Imagine a hamster. Consider its fluffy body, tiny feet and oversized belly. Admit it, despite the fact that it’s a rodent, it’s kind of cute. Of course, it lives in a cage. It takes its water from a bottle. It eats out of a dish. When it needs exercise, it runs in its wheel. The wheel spins and spins. The hamster never considers the implications of going nowhere or the fact that nothing gets produced. As long as it’s running and the wheel is spinning everything seems so right. As long as the wheel keeps spinning, who cares if the hamster actually gets nowhere?

                Some of us are like that hamster. Trying to love others without the love of God makes us no more effective than the hamster. The purpose is not to spin your wheels “trying” to live up to the Bible. We must stop thinking that Christianity needs to be generated by works of the flesh. This is purposeless and backwards. For the past two weeks we have been discussing that agape must be received from the dimension where it originates. Any other comprehension of loving others with the love of God is by definition carnal. This must not be so! Consider what Paul had to say to the carnally minded Corinthians:

                “And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.” (1 Corinthians 3:1)

                We’re now going to look at an example that will help us lay down carnal thinking when it comes to the concept of agape. I am going to create a mental picture for how this works. Imagine a gardener. This gardener has a garden that needs to be watered. The garden represents the lives of the people in his sphere of influence. The water represents the love of God that needs to be poured out upon them.

                This gardener understands the basic principle of things. It’s his job to water the garden. If he waters the garden, he’ll bear much fruit! Like it is written

 “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.” (Matthew 7:20)

Unfortunately this gardener is not the brightest crayon in the box. Let me explain. He has a water hose attached to his house. This hose represents his connection to the heavenly places, or the dimension where God’s love is generated (Ephesians 2:6, Ephesians 3:17-19). This hose receives water from a reservoir that for all intents and purposes is unlimited. Therefore, instead of going the most logical route, he walks several miles to his nearest grocery store, pays $1.29 and buys a can of Coke®. What is his goal? If you can believe it, he has purposed to water the garden with the coke that his self-effort produced. Why would he do something so ridiculous?

The Coke® represents a counterfeit to God’s love. This is backwards thinking. It is impossible to water an entire garden with this substance and expect it to work. In the same way, it is impossible to love others according to the way God has purposed us to love them if we go about it with the wrong paradigm. The wrong paradigm is self-effort. It’s not our job to develop strategies for generating a counterfeit. It is our job to reveal it from its source. This can only be done by allowing this love to flow through us, which is why we must seek to be continually filled with the Spirit.

“And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18)

Many Christians are like the gardener. They then turn around and try to love others as best they can. When the Coke® doesn’t work, they feel like failures. They ask: why does the Bible demand such an impossible standard? How foolish. Here’s the new paradigm: Turn on the hose of God’s love and douse yourself with it until your clothes, hair and shoes are literally dripping. Then turn around and blast the people in your life with the same hose. The love isn’t being generated by your self-effort, so don’t try to live like it is. Just let it flow from its source, and suddenly you’ll find that the proverbial garden is literally drowning from overexposure. It is possible! You can release the love of God upon others! Don’t be like the hamster spinning its wheels. When we get a grasp of this, unity in the body of Christ will become very natural.

               

Discussion

1.       Do you perceive life by looking first to the natural or first to the spiritual?

2.       Considering the example of the hamster, can you remember a time in your life where you felt like this example applied to your situation?

3.       Can you remember a time when you tried to love others out of a wrong paradigm?

4.       How many dimensions does the love of God occupy?

5.       Where does agape come from?