When
Jesus Happens to You (Part 1,2,3,4,5,6 and 7)
When Jesus “Happens” To
You! Part 1 (Conviction for Sin)
This month I will begin a short series of thoughts
on the regeneration of our lives by the power of the Holy Spirit. As I mentioned
in the past, I believe that many of our churches are filled with people who have
made a commitment to “church” or to “faith” and have not had a genuine
encounter with the Living God. This fact is evidenced by the number of
“Christians” who, (as the Barna Group illustrates,) have no hunger to know
the Lord, pray or study the Scriptures, do not believe the Bible to be the final
authority in their lives as the inerrant Word of God, do not experience
conviction for sin, (including those spelled out in graphic detail in the Bible)
do not financially, materially or otherwise support the work of the ministry,
serve, or concern themselves with the present and future state of the lost, et
al.
The Bible indicates that none of this should be
startling to us, as it has been the case for centuries. Jesus spoke about people
who hear the Word but never genuinely experience the regenerational workings of
the Spirit. In fact, it could be concluded that only an estimated 25% of those
who hear the Word (the genuinely given and correctly communicated Word) are
actually saved. (Mark 4)
People are “saved” when they are invaded by the
Holy Spirit. People are saved who have heard and believed the true gospel (as
described only in the Bible) and have been given a supernatural infilling of and
life changing transformation by the power of the Holy Spirit. People are not
saved by attending church, going to Sunday School, learning and/or citing a list
of rules, regulations, dogma’s or participating in some series of rituals.
People are saved by a genuine invasion of the Holy Spirit. Jesus called it being
“Born Again.” It is a supernatural and literal (may I say, mystical)
experience with the living God.
Are you “Born Again?” Have you had Jesus invade
your life? Have you surrendered your all to Him? If not, invite Him to invade
your life today!
"Repent therefore and be converted, that your
sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence
of the Lord.” (Acts 3:19)
More next month…
Blessings
to you all,
Pastor
Paul
July
2005
When Jesus “Happens” To
You! Part 2 (Desire to Worship)
Last month I began a series on the evidences of
genuine regeneration. We looked at the first evidences along with a list of the
continuing works of grace, as inspired by the Holy Spirit. The initial work of
the Spirit is to provide conviction for sin (our need for a Savior) and reveal
Christ as the only true Savior and Lord. Conviction for sin and faith to believe
are gifts from the Lord. Our only activity in the process is to agree with God
about our condition and then exercise the faith He has given.
This month I want to focus on worship. I have long
believed that the best spiritual barometer for determining a person’s progress
in faith is to see how worship is demonstrated in their life. Worship is, by
many standards, thought of as the 30-40 minutes of music placed before the
preaching on a given Sunday. While this is an opportunity to worship, and
participation is a good test of where we are spiritually, it is not the
all-encompassing definition of worship. Worship is best defined as humbly bowing
down. To worship the Lord is to humbly bow down and render ourselves to Him as
servants: surrendering to Him as Lord…in every area of our lives. To lack
surrender is to fail in worship.
The scriptures clearly indicate that when we
professes to know the Lord and yet refuses to live a life of obedience (worship)
they deceive ourselves and deny the Lord the honor due Him. “If we say that we
have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the
truth.” (1 John 1:6) “He who says, "I know Him," and does not keep
His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” (1 John 2:4) A
professing “Christian” who is not a worshipper is one may be demonstrating a
form of faith short of regeneration. There is the potential of being a believer
in the facts of the faith and yet come short of being born again.
Jesus said, “…the hour is coming, and now is,
when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the
Father is seeking such to worship Him.” (John 4:23) Therefore we must
conclude, those who are among the ones He has called, chosen and sanctified, are
those who are His worshippers.
Are you one of His worshippers? Have you
consciously determined to humbly bow down and present yourself to the Lord as a
living sacrifice? Are you genuinely born again? If not, call out to the Lord
today and let Jesus “happen” to you…today!
Blessings
to you all,
Pastor
Paul
August
2005
When Jesus
“Happens” To You! Part 3 (Love)
Two months ago, I began a series on the evidences
of genuine regeneration. We looked at the first evidences along with the
continued works of grace, as developed by the Holy Spirit. The initial work of
the Spirit is to provide conviction for sin (our need for a Savior) and reveal
Christ as the only true Savior and Lord. Conviction for sin and faith to believe
are gifts from the Lord. Our only activity in the process is to agree with God
about our condition and exercise the faith He has given. Last month we
identified worship as our surrender to God, allowing Him to take control of our
lives.
This month, in continuing our series, we will focus
on the love God inspires and how He uses us to demonstrate His love by loving
others. Translated, this means living a Christ centered lifestyle that points
people to Christ. We are called to assist others in knowing, serving and
blessing the Lord. Anything we do that stumbles a brother or sister should be
avoided; care is taken to do all we can to help people keep their eyes on Jesus.
The scriptures plainly declare, “By this shall all men know that you are my
disciples, if you have love one for another.” (John 13:35)
In the world today, “Christians” are often
referred to as “judgers,” “haters” and/or “self-righteous.” This was
not the case with Jesus. However, Jesus was criticized by the religious of His
day for demonstrating love, grace, mercy and ministry to all. His methods
generally offended the religious. For example, recall the occasion where Jesus
allowed a “sinful woman” to speak to Him, wash His feet, touch Him, etc. To
all in that era, these were culturally taboo and horrifying acts.
Those who are genuinely born again, grow in the
Spirit. They reflect more and more the true nature of Jesus. Approachable,
loving, honest, gentle. Jesus did not come to condemn but to heal. He made
people (like the woman who washed His feet) feel comfortable enough to come into
the room where He was eating and knew He would provide acceptance as well as
protection from the ridicule of others. We are called to do the same.
Do people find you supportive, positive and
approachable? Are you known as loving?
My prayer is that we come to know the Lord in all
His power, “having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible,
through the Word of God which lives and abides forever.”
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his
only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have
everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world;
but that the world through Him might be saved.”
Blessings
to you all,
Pastor
Paul
September
2005
When Jesus
“Happens” To You! Part 4 (Hunger for the Word and Prayer)
We are now in our fourth month on the
regenerational power of the Holy Spirit. My focus is centered in the fact that
many people profess to know the Lord but have yet to experience a genuine
encounter with Him: being born again. In the past months we have looked at the
indwelling of the Holy Spirit: His life transforming power, genuine worship as
described by the Scriptures, the fruit of love as made manifest by the person of
the Holy Spirit and this month we will look at Bible study and prayer.
The Scriptures exhort us to “Study to show
(ourselves) approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly
dividing the Word of Truth.” (2 Tim. 2:15) We are also given the
(non-optional) command to pray. “Pray without ceasing.” (1 Thes. 5:17) The
Bible is loaded with exhortations to pray and know the Lord. We know Him by the
power of His Holy Spirit as revealed in the Scriptures and for each time we are
instructed to study or teach we are exhorted to pray an estimated 30 times.
Prayer is communing with the Lord. Bible study accompanied with prayer enables
the believer to build a relationship with the Lord.
Many Christians speak of having a personal
relationship with Jesus. Correctly stated. A person, who is a genuine Christian,
does have a personal relationship with God. However, there are far to many
“professing believers” who have no personal interaction with the Lord. They
neither pray nor study the Bible. Imagine a marriage relationship where a spouse
neither speaks to nor listens to the other. As imagined, the “union” is
neither a relationship nor personal.
The Bible demonstrates that a person who has been
born again, has a relationship with the Lord. They are a people of prayer and
the Word.
No sincere Christian will deny the fact that there
are seasons in life when the disciplines of prayer and Bible study are faint,
but all genuinely born again Christians have the desire to study the Bible and
spend time with God in prayer. It is, in fact, God who inspires a relationship
with us and draws us unto Himself. It is the Lord who causes us to desire
Biblical understanding and intimacy with Him in prayer. Prayer is the life
breath of a vital life in the Lord.
Are you hungry to know the Lord? Do you have a
thirst to spend time with the Lord in the Scriptures and prayer? Are you
unsatisfied when you neglect time with Him? If so, be thankful. This may
indicate a genuine rebirth. If not, you may need to take another look at your
“faith” and ask the Lord to invade you by His divine power!
Blessings
to you all,
Pastor Paul
October
2005
When Jesus
“Happens” To You! Part 5 (Desire to Serve)
We are now in the fifth month of our series on the
regenerational power of the Holy Spirit. The focus has been the fact that far
too many people profess to know the Lord but have yet to experience a genuine
encounter with Him; being born again.
Over the last few months we have looked at
conviction for sin, desire to worship, love, hunger for the Word and prayer.
This month we will look at the “desire to serve” which accompanies genuine
salvation.
A careful look at the lives of the Bible’s
leaders, prophets, disciples and apostles, allows us to discover that each of
them had a direct calling with accompanying activity. This activity was directly
associated with their surrender to the Lord. We can see that several of these
servants were reluctant, some undisciplined and some, at times, rebellious; but
all of them were called to some form of service and eventually fulfilled their
role in the Kingdom.
It seems that in today’s (Western) church we see
a select few who do most of the “work of ministry” and the remaining benefit
from their labors. This is neither Biblical nor healthy as a model for effective
ministry. It is in fact, just another symptom of the large numbers of professing
“Christians” who are attending churches but are lacking a genuine spiritual
re-birth.
When we are genuinely born again, we are given a
passion for service. It will involve sharing our faith. It will occupy us in
service to our brothers and sisters. At times, it will involve a very specific
call to fulfill certain God inspired vision and directives. The point is, every
born again believer has a calling from the Lord! Regenerated believers are hard
pressed to escape the passion. When Jesus saves us, He calls us to His purposes
and with abandon we lay aside our own agenda for His. As Peter set aside his
fishing nets to fish for men, some believers will set aside “worldly
pursuits” for occupational ministry.
Over the years I have seen frustrated Christians who are unfulfilled in
their walk. Often this is the result of a failure to respond to the “call”
God has placed on their lives. I have seen Christians who are stagnant and
without vitality. This too may be caused by lack of serving. (The Dead Sea has
many inlets but no outlet.)
Are you active in service? Do you have a desire to bless others in Jesus
name? Do you have vision and passion to fulfill your God given directives? If
so, this may be another indicator of genuine rebirth. If not, take another look
at your “faith” and ask the Lord to invade you by the power of His Holy
Spirit!
May the Lord Himself cause you to hunger and thirst
for Him. May He allow you opportunities to serve. May you experience the
satisfaction only He can provide.
Blessings
upon you all,
Pastor
Paul
Candlelight Christian
Fellowship
November
2005
When Jesus
“Happens” To You! Part 6 (Concern for those without Christ)
This is the sixth part of our series on the
regenerational effects of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer. We have
looked at conviction for sin, desire to worship, love, hunger for the Word and
prayer, the desire to serve and this month, concern for those without Christ.
Our focus has been distinguishing between “church attendees” and those who
are truly born again, i.e. the real Church.
Every truly born again believer has had to come
face to face with their spiritual condition and recognize their need for a
Savior. By understanding “the wages of (their) sin is death” they have also
come to understand that the wages of sin for every man, woman and child is death
as well. When those who are truly born again understand this, they are compelled
to share their faith with those who are separated from God and headed for
eternity, without Him, in hell.
The Scriptures clearly teach that all are sinners,
deserving the penalty demanded by justice. It is entirely righteous for God to
condemn all men, (who are each, equally guilty of and born under sin,) to death.
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)
Anything short of divine judgment would be an injustice.
Here are the facts of the Gospel. Jesus Christ:
God’s Only Begotten Son, came into the world, born of a virgin, lived a
sinless life, died for our sin, in our place, (taking the penalty we deserve,)
conquered death by being physically raised up from the dead after three day and
three nights in the grave, ascended to the right hand of the Father in heaven
and ever lives to intercede for those who are His. Our Messiah’s completed
work enables God to grant forgiveness to those who are willing to receive His
mercy and pardon their sin. This is what believers call the “Good News” i.e.
the Gospel. Everyone who fully understands this, and has received forgiveness of
sin, is compelled to share his or her faith with others, enabling them to escape
the wrath we all deserve.
Jesus commanded His disciples to “go into all the
world and preach the gospel.” (Mark 16:15) Today, as Jesus disciples, those
who are truly born again follow the mandate and share this hope with the world.
Our worship of God, love for others and genuine understanding of the eternal
destiny of those who don’t know the Lord demands it.
Are you concerned for the Lost? Are you
comfortable knowing others may spend eternity in hell? Have you a burden or
passion to share the good news with those around you? Jesus has demonstrated His
love for us, and the whole world. Now He commands us to go… The time is at
hand.
Blessings to you all,
Pastor Paul
December
2005
When Jesus “Happens” To
You! Part 7 (The Fruit of the Spirit)
This month we will conclude our series with this
seventh installment on the regenerational effects of the Holy Spirit in the life
of the believer. We have looked at conviction for sin, desire to worship, love,
hunger for the Word and prayer, the desire to serve and concern for the lost.
Our focus has been distinguishing between those who attend church and those who
are truly born again: the true Church. This week we will focus on the fruit of
the Holy Spirit.
In our third week we looked at the fruit of love as
it applies to our disposition towards others. The effort was to show that those
who are regenerated are being transformed to demonstrate the nature of Jesus
toward others. The Scriptures make clear that the Holy Spirit, abiding in the
born again believer, will produce a spiritually fruitful nature. When Paul wrote
to the Galatians he gave a list of developing characteristics. “But the fruit
of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's
have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.” (Galatians 5:22-24)
Christians are expected to live as witnesses to the
resurrected Christ. We are responsible to represent the Lord as His ambassadors
and speak, live, love and serve on His behalf. God would never ask us to rise to
such a task without equipping us to do so. Thus, God by the power of His Spirit,
in the work of regeneration, comes to dwell in us, permanently abiding with us
and empowering us to “be His witnesses” everywhere we go.
As born again believers we are called to cease
living in and for the flesh and allow the Holy Spirit to make manifest the life
of Christ in us. Paul the Apostle wrote, “I beseech you therefore, brethren,
by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy,
acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to
this world: but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove
what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” (Romans 12:1-2)
The challenge every born again believer faces is the daily choice to surrender
afresh to the nature of Jesus and allow the fruit of the Holy Spirit to grow and
be demonstrated in our lives.
Having discussed this and all the previous
points, we are forced to ask the question. Are you truly born again? Have you
made Jesus Lord of your life? Are you able to recognize the working of the Holy
Spirit in your life? If not, surrender your all to Jesus today. Ask Him to
transform your life and cause you to be born again! Believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ and you shall be saved. (Regenerated by the Power of God)
Blessings to you all, Pastor
Paul