Have you ever witnessed, experienced, or heard of ( from a trusted person you know ) an actual verifiable miracle.
Posted : 3 Jan, 2016 06:02 PM
Hello Pastor!
I can appreciate the need for us to think of a 'miracle' as something 'supernatural', but personally I think this can lead us down the wrong path, let me explain a little.
I'm sure you would agree that anything which we perceive in the physical realm we can also perceive in the spiritual. Or another way of putting it, for every manifestation in the physical world, there is also a spiritual manifestation, as in Ep 6:20 and particularly Jn 1:1-3. These verses tell me that anything we 'see' and 'hear' and 'touch' are spoken into existence by the Word of God and in fact exist in the spiritual realm before they do in the physical.
So what does this mean? Well it means that everything is both natural and supernatural of course, and it should not be up to us to second guess what a miracle is or is not. I think most people consider every conception a miracle, don't you?
This is the problem we Christians come across with extremely atheistic people of course, to whom there is no such thing as a bona fide miracle, because (they would say) "even if a 'realistic/naturalistic' explanation cannot be found at this time, there must be one somewhere". And in many cases there may well be, but I (and I'm sure you also) would answer...that does not mean the event in question wasn't truly miraculous!
If you were about to walk across the road and someone called your name so you turned round just as a car came speeding round the corner, would you not call that a miracle?
I have been the recipient of a number of what I call miracles, though none of them really 'defy' explanation, but I do still believe God 'stepped in' when help was needed!
I thank our father for his Word, even his only begotten son, the Christ and most holy Messiah of God; Jesus. For it is Jesus who is our saviour and our redeemer, the one whom we adore and hold fast too in times of temptation and trial, as well as thank in times of blessing and rejoicing. It is he who intercedes for us to our father Abba, the God of Israel, the Alpha and Omega, the author and finisher of our faith, so that we may even be made to be righteous in his holy sight. Not by our own deeds, for we have given of our own selves to follow our Lord Jesus; but by his blood, by faith through his infinite grace.
As we fellowship I pray that he shows us his truth so that we are not in error but that we may understand his plans for us and that we may be a empty vessels for his spirit to fill. Be it unto you my Lord, the Lion of Judah, Prince of Peace, Christ Jesus, in your mighty name and by your beautiful blood I pray, Amen.
I wish to counter a doctrine which is amongst the Church known as 'Once saved always saved'. Let me explain why I believe, through guidance from the Holy Spirit, the Word and various brethren, that it is a dangerous doctrine. Like many such others, because it contains a grain of truth, it sounds plausible but is overall very misleading.
Many Christians believe that once a person is saved, it essentially doesn't matter what sin they commit between the day they are saved and the day they finally die, they will still inherit the kingdom of God. There are a number of scriptures these people use to defend this position, and there are of course scriptures which I could use to counter it. I am however merely going allow the Holy Spirit to speak through me though (there will no doubt be quotes from scripture but I simply won't attempt to reference them at the moment.
Firstly I find it peculiar that any true disciple of Christ would wish to try to reason this way, it just seems that they are trying to find a reason to keep on sinning! When it is explicit throughout all the scripture, in both the Old and New Testaments that sin IS enmity from God.
Secondly I have experience with backsliding, with going into sin after receiving my salvation, and right after I sinned, I not only didn't feel like I was saved (until I repented again and had forgiven myself) but I actually know that God was not in me, I found it incredibly difficult to pray. I would feel very empty. In fact, it makes sense because if we are the temple of God, and God is holy; how could he remain abiding in us if we desecrate his temple?
Thirdly, though Christ did say that anything which the father has given to him he cannot lose, he also said that his sheep follow him, surely we cannot call ourselves his sheep if we do not follow him, and Jesus only says that he cannot lose us, not that we cannot go astray if we choose to. Put it this way, if it were impossible for us to lose our salvation, that would be tantamount to God forcing us to stay with him on the basis of one decision we've made, God doesn't want to force us to come to him, he wants us to choose.
If a person wilfully disobeys his will and sins, fornicates for instance; then they are choosing in that instance to follow satan, to be disobedient to God and to want to put his/her own selfish interests before Gods eternal plan. How can this person remain saved at that moment? If they have chosen disobedience, how can they then not be a child of disobedience.
Of course the person can then repent, and as long as they repent (truthfully) and sincerely hand themselves over to the mercy of God, then Jesus can again wash them clean. But therein lies the problem, if a person is continuously doing this back and forth, sin then repentance routine; how can they be truly repenting every time? Ought they not in some way in the back of their mind be thinking "I can always go back into my sins sometime later and do this all over again"?
This is called being hot and cold and Jesus will spue such a person out.
It is the easiest thing in the world (at least the first time!) to give your life to Christ and become a Christian, but it is (in my opinion) the hardest thing in the world to remain one. Jesus himself said that the path is narrow that leads to everlasting life, whilst the path is broad and wide that leads to eternal damnation, it is clear that we have to fight for our salvation continuously. When Christ died on the cross, he only needed to do it once and then it was finished for good, so from Gods point of view, his work is done, but from our point of view it isn't a one time deal, we have to 'work out our salvation'. There are ways and means to do this, perhaps they are for a different discussion, (simply put, Prayer and fellowship with Jesus through his Word and his Church) but I firmly believe that we can no longer play around with Gods mercy, this is so important, we must remain as holy as we can be, it is no game.
I thank Jesus for his precious blood which brought our freedom and our salvation, I thank him for giving us the power to be sons and daughters of his father the Most High God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I pray that he strengthens us in every way he can against conformity to the wickedness of this world, so that we may be able to present ourselves totally blameless on the day of judgement. And though it may not be because of our own works, but by his works, we do not want to make him a liar when he said it is finished, because we know that if we are disobedient, we crucify him all over again. I pray these things by the broken body and the awesome name of Jesus, Amen.
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
These verses are often used by those who have the mistaken view 'once saved, always saved'.
We can notice that in the scripture Jesus gives three ways by which we might identify his sheep; they hear his voice, he knows them AND they follow him!
How can a person who has gone back to sin (if they are still in sin they didn't repent of it and must not have been saved in the first place) be following him?
I have in past times back-sliden in my walk with God, and I don't know about anyone else, but I found it very difficult to even pray, let alone worship him in truth while I was sinning. It is clear to me, a good tree cannot bear evil fruit and vice versa. It's not how long you have run the race, or how late you start, it's how you finish it.
God is indeed slow to anger and plenteous in mercy (Ps 103:8) and is greatly concerned with helping us to not go astray as we read in Mt 18:11-14. In fact that he came in the flesh so that we can be counted among his flock.
But do not be deceived Brother/Sister by the teachings of some false shepherds (Jn 10) who might say that regardless of what wicked sins you carry on doing or fall back into, you are still saved.
This is a lie (1Co 6:9,10), there is no doubt, if a person is sining God cannot be with them, he is perfect and if your body is the temple of the Most High God then how can he abide therein?
It is not a popular doctrine, no doubt. Men love sin, and will worship any god of their own making in order to say in it, but that is not the God of Israel, the creator of all things, he is as just and holy as he is kind and loving.
Any who still believe that sin is compatible with Christianity should ask themselves this. Is what I am currently doing in my life, ALL my life, consistent to presenting my body as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God (Ro 12:1)? Am I dead unto sin (Ro 6:11)?
Jesus paid with his very life so that we could inherit the kingdom of God, why did he pay if it be that we can simply carry on sinning? We defile the temple of God if we do so, we nail Jesus back to the cross if we do so. If we sin after we are born again, we need to repent again and be reborn again, and that is being 'hot and cold'(Re 3:15,16).
Did Jesus reject Moses' reasons for divorce in Matthew 19?
Posted : 19 Dec, 2015 05:46 AM
GodsJude
In answer to you question pertaining to abusive marriages, this is clearly a sensitive issue and I have to admit to having no experience with abusive marriages from any perspective (to my knowledge!)
I do however feel that Jesus is able to mend any marriage, even adulterous ones if both parties humble themselves before him. And for this reason I cannot believe that even this is a good reason for divorce.
Of course a person should attempt to make themselves safe, and the abuser should not go unpunished, but a marriage that has been consummated should not simply end because one person has been overcome with demons, there should be extensive prayer and council from church elders and the matter should be handed over to the Lord.
It is a whole other matter if the abuser is not born again, this is of course one very good reason for Christians not to yoke themselves to unbelievers. But I still believe that Christ is able to save the marriage if it is his will.
If it is not his will, then, as far as I'm concerned, you make your bed and you lie in it. In fact it may well be that the marriage failed because it was not Gods will in the first place, but that's a whole other subject. Marriage is not the be all and end all though, Christ is, we need to remember that.
If a person is totally in love with Christ, and has denied themselves sufficiently, then they really ought to be content with Gods will in this matter, and stop trying to find a way to satisfy their own desires.
Did Jesus reject Moses' reasons for divorce in Matthew 19?
Posted : 16 Dec, 2015 05:50 PM
Wow,
To the opening post in the thread...lol...
I also think, yes
It's quite clear that our Lord was putting aside the teaching of Moses and giving us only one reason for divorce, that is sexual imorality, there are other certain nuances of the scripture in Mt 5:32 and 19:9 which I still need clarification from the Holy Spirit about, but the that is for another discussion...much like the majority of this thread...
John 1:1c
And the Word was God
John 1:14a
And the Word was made flesh
End of discussion as far as I'm concerned!
I'm grateful that Jesus, the Alpha and the Omega, Emanuel 'God is with us', gave us the assurance that the tares would be purged from among the wheat in the judgement. But I pray he carries on doing it while we are still in the world so that we may be as pure a Bride as we can when the Bride Groom arrives! Amen.
Rambo - I'm not sure about that, though perhaps I can agree if your talking about the marriage of Christ the Bridegroom with his Church the Bride (Re 21:2).
Otherwise, I cannot agree, though I surely would like to be married and to find the bone of my bone, ultimately Gods will be done. I pray as Christ asked us to pray, after exalting His glory, I ask for His Kingdom to come! (Mt 6:9,10)
That is surely the end of the the journey and even the reason for the journey, if God wants us to be joined with our other half (this is of course speculation) He could always do it when we are with him in Heaven.
I'm sorry to be contrary, and I wouldn't want you to be offended, I just see things differently.
Someone asked about any legitimate reason for divorce and remarriage.
Posted : 27 Nov, 2015 09:27 AM
Greetings in Jesus' name!
Mt 19:9
(KJV)
And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.
(GNV)
I say therefore unto you, that whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for whoredom, and marry another, commiteth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her which is divorced, doth commit adultery.
(NASB)
And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.�
A perusal of all the translations on this page shows that all that I could see show pretty much the same thing
http://biblehub.com/matthew/19-9.htm
Mt 5:32 is similar
Quite honestly, there are a number of ways we can fully interpret this, but there are I believe some certainties. Jesus is clearly giving an exception, which is either sexual relations with another person, or else any sexual sin.
It becomes less clear as to whether Jesus is giving the same guidelines to men as to women, or indeed whether even a man who has divorced his wife (in the given exception) can remarry or not
I confess that the Spirit is yet to reveal the full meaning to me, I shall have to meditate on it further, but I merely wanted to counter the opinion that Christ gave no reason for divorce.
Okay, I really wish I could delete this post and start again!
I must appologise for the way I formed my OP, it was a little sloppy to say the least.
'10-17 After his disciples question his insistence on speaking in parables Jesus explains that some teachings are too hard for those who will not want to hear, and if they are told them bluntly, they will become more Gospel hardened. That if he says straightly that some love their sin too much, for instance, they will be forever lost because no one wants to hear that they must let go of that which they think they cannot do without! (this teaches us that we need to let the spirit guide us how we share the Gospel)'
This was actually mostly a thought about the whole chapter and not just about Jesus' words, more importantly though, I should make it clear that it is worded incredibly poorly...'I believe' that the above was what Jesus was trying to say, but that is not to say he actually was! It is not something I would preach, but rather something I would put up for discusion in an open forum (such as this).
I guess the problem is that I have formed it as somewhat like a preaching (which was not my intention) as indicate by the brief (albeit easily overlooked) statement right at the end of the OP
'I may be off the mark with some things, if so please reply with your own thoughts, or even add your thoughts if there was something else you got from the scripture , I do so pray that some small thing I have been given proves to be beneficial to some ones walk with Almighty God. It is important that we help each other, what is family for!
I hope that everyone can see that I have tried to put right my mistakes, I thank God that hes made me humble enough to admit that I have made an error which I will certainly learn from!
