Hyper-Grace

Have you ever heard the term hyper-grace, or false grace?  From what I understand it is circulating in some churches today.  The teaching says that once you are saved you never have to repent again and confess your sins because all your sins have been forgiven, past, present and future.  

Did Christ die for all the sins in the world?  Yes, He did.  So, does that mean that we never have to repent again, if we are believers?  First I want to say this, I am not here to argue with anyone about this but to point out some things that I see in God’s Word that I don’t think line up with this teaching.  Before I get into this let me say this, I’m very troubled by altar calls for salvation that don’t include repentance and don’t even mention the condition of the people before they make a commitment to receive the Lord.

John the Baptist talked about repentance before he would baptize anyone, except Jesus who had nothing to repent of because He had never sinned.  Read Matthew 3:1-2, “In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, and saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Now read verses 7-10 in that same chapter, “But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: and think not to say within yourselves, we have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.”

Even Jesus when He started preaching, preached repentance, read Matthew 4:17, “From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

And what is the Word for and what is its purpose?  Read 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”  These things are what the Word is for and, if it is used in this way, everyone will experience the truth.

Read what Paul said in Acts 17:29-31, “Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device. And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent: because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.” 

Now getting back to the hyper-grace doctrine, read these scriptures and pray about them and ask the Lord what the real truth is and let him speak to you about them.  

Read what happened in the Corinthian church Paul speaking. Read 2 Corinthians 7:8-11, “For though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not repent, though I did repent: for I perceive that the same epistle hath made you sorry, though it were but for a season. Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.”  Wow, they repented!!

Then you can read James 5:14-16, “Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”

And then read about the churches in Revelations chapter 2 and what the Lord said to them.

And think about this, why is 1 John 1:9 in the Bible?  Read that verse, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  The way I see what the Bible says, is when we sin as a Christian we need to repent and ask the Lord to forgive us and to restore us.  I have given you something to think about and I hope this will help you and encourage you in your walk with the Lord!!  May the good Lord bless you and yours and may you all have a super day!!

Barnabas

We hear about Barnabas in the New Testament, but who was Barnabas?  He was an encourager who befriended Paul and accepted him when the others didn’t trust him, probably thinking he was trying to trick them because they knew him as the persecutor of the people of The Way at that time.  Barnabas was the one who was willing to risk his life when Paul came into Jerusalem for the first time after he had his encounter with the Lord on the Damascus Road and became a Jewish believer.  From what I have read, his name was Joseph, but he was such an encourager that he was given the nickname Barnabas, which meant son of encouragement, from the early Jerusalem believers.  He was a great blessing to Paul and many others in His day because he was such an encourager and a faithful godly man.  

It was Barnabas that encouraged Mark to go with them on their first missionary journey to Antioch where Mark left them and went home, which didn’t go over very well with Paul.  Barnabas wanted to take Mark on another missionary journey but Paul was highly against it.  There was such a disagreement that they ended up parting company and Paul took Silas and Barnabas took Mark.  Because Barnabas encouraged Mark, he became very useful for the ministry and eventually Paul and Mark were reunited and became good friends.

Barnabas was also one of the first believers to sell his possessions in the 4th chapter of Acts, to help other believers that needed help.  This is a very much needed gift in the body of Christ today, as well as to those that are not in the body yet.  There are many hurting people in both situations and the gift of encouragement can be used in all kinds of ways.  

Sometimes it is risky to be an encourager, like when Barnabas befriended Paul not knowing what to expect in that encounter.  There are times when you might be rejected, and sometimes misunderstood, or people may judge you in the wrong way, not really understanding your intentions when all you want to do is encourage them with no other motive.  We live in a world where people have a very good reason not to trust everyone and so we need to be very sensitive, compassionate and loving when trying to encourage someone.

I hope that you will seek the gift of encouragement and let the good Lord use you in your gifting, and I hope that you will be used in a mighty way to further the kingdom of God!!  Let me suggest some ways that you can encourage others:

1. You can pray with, and for them.

2. You can be a listening ear when someone needs someone to talk to or even vent.

3. You can visit someone in the nursing home or hospital.

4. You could visit someone in jail or prison.

5. You could make a meal for a sick person or just visit someone in their home

6. You could do their snow or their yard work.

7. You could take them a gift or make something nice for them.

8. Sometimes just a friendly smile will brighten up someone’s day or a kind word will do a lot to encourage someone.

There are numerous ways that you could be an encourager and I hope you will be.  I have given you something to think about and I hope you will.  The sad thing is, sometimes we are so involved with ourselves and our own interests that we overlook the hurting people all around us.  I hope this has been a blessing to you and may the good Lord bless you and yours and may you all have a super, super day!!  P. S. don’t forget to thank and praise the Lord for He is worthy!!

That’s No Mountain

Jason Crabb and the Crabb Family sing a song about a mountain.  The song goes something like this, “that is no mountain at all, for the One who made the mountain stands in front of him.”

As a Christian, there seems to be mountains that loom in our way many times, but, when they seem to rise in front of us, we can call on the One that is always with us, the same one that made the mountain.  And let me say this, in all reality we may face circumstances and difficulties that may seem mountainous to us, but whether they be for our climbing or whether we can go around them, the One that cares for us will help us in either case.  Sometimes the difficulties we face seem impossible for us to handle, and let me say this, that some of them are.  But I want to remind you of the One that knows your difficulties and trials, He wants to help you with them and He is only a prayer away.  Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that just because you pray, all your difficulties and problems are just going to disappear, but when you pray with faith, without wavering, then the Lord’s help will be there and He will take action and help you.  We have to understand that some of our difficulties are used to shape and mold us into the people the Lord wants us to be.  Many of these difficulties are brought on by ourselves and we can grow through them if we don’t just get bitter and angry and give up because of them.  

Think about what Jesus said in John 16:30-33 to His disciples, “Now are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not that any man should ask thee: by this we believe that thou camest forth from God. Jesus answered them, Do ye now believe? Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”

These were encouraging words that they might have peace, even in tribulation and that if they looked at tribulation with the right perspective they could even have joy going through these trials.  Think about how the disciples felt after Jesus was arrested, they all scattered, plus Peter denied Him three separate times, they were very afraid.  Do you think this wasn’t a very difficult thing for them to handle, their world had been shattered, so to speak?  God had revealed to Peter earlier that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God, and he proclaimed it.  This had to be a very difficult time for them, but the Lord didn’t leave them in that predicament, no, He didn’t forsake them, He revealed himself to them after His resurrection and He reinstated Peter because Peter repented, and He will not leave us either, praise the Lord.

God’s Word says this in Hebrews 13:5-6, “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, the Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.”

There are other places in God’s Word that relate to this also.  Think about Jonah being swallowed by the big fish.  There he is in the fish’s belly; this was probably the worst day of his life.  Even in all this he was still not out of God’s sight and when Jonah finally came to his senses he repented and prayed and God had the fish throw him up on dry ground.  Then He obeyed God and God had mercy on the people of Nineveh, which were a wicked people.

Remember this, God’s children that love Him and live humble, repentant lives will always have the power, with God’s help, to overcome every trial or any mountainous circumstance they find themselves up against, praise the Lord!!  I hope this Tidbit was an encouragement to you and was a help to you!!  May the good Lord bless you and yours and may you all have a super, super day!!

Rags to Riches

I have heard it said I wouldn’t ever make anything out of myself because I was too dumb and stupid, but the people, as far as I know, never knew about the Lord Jesus.  And the ones that said I was dumb or stupid were right at the time and I believed what they said for many years and, as I got older, I became what I call a freak, a pawn for the evil one in the world.  

I’ve been in out of relationships and seemed to lose everything I had, I just couldn’t seem to hang onto anything.  I should have been in jail or prison at least two or three times, but I only spent one night in jail, which could have been many years in prison, thank the Lord.  I was sort of like a crazy man getting to the point of not caring about what might happen.  I flipped a van, been down twice on motorcycles, I had a guy, that called himself my friend, get drunk and because he was mad he decide he wanted to kill me, he had a rifle on me at a very close range but instead of shooting me he tried to hit me in the head with the butt end of the rifle but when he couldn’t do that he went and got a knife and tried to stab me in the stomach with it, but got my hand instead, then he turned around went over to his bed, laid down and went to sleep and I went and got my hand fixed up.  To make things worse, this guy was studying to be a pastor at the time but he hadn’t overcome his drinking problem.  I had another guy come after me with a pistol one night after I had left the bar because of a problem we had earlier and a friend of mine took it away from him before he could get to me.  

I was spiraling down and down for many years but the Lord had other plans for me that I didn’t know anything about.  When I married my wife I didn’t even love her, I lusted after her and when we had the kids I couldn’t go to them because I couldn’t take a chance of getting too close to anyone or anything because I thought I would lose them, so they had to come to me.  I had a very bad temper and smashed things and broke things and ranted and raged when things didn’t go the way I wanted them to.  

The only difference between an alcoholic and me was I didn’t go to any meetings.  Reefers and pills were my choice of drugs and choppers and custom bikes were my choice of rides and partying was my choice of entertainment and all the things that went along with that lifestyle.  I also pumped iron for many years, I am like a skeleton compared to what I was at one time.  I was going down the street when I was maybe fourteen or fifteen when I found a porn magazine in the gutter; from that situation I was hooked on porn for many years.  

I didn’t mention my experience with the Lord that I had at the age of around 21.  At that time there were some guys canvassing the area telling people about the Lord and when they came to my house and spoke to me about the Lord, I got down on my knees and prayed with them and it felt like someone put their fingers across my chest and I felt like everything was gone, all the guilt and shame, I felt like I could have jumped on the roof, but my wife at the time just laughed like it was a joke, so after they left I went right back to drinking again.  I told some people the next day at work what had happened but they were no help and at the time I was working with an atheist and I never saw those guys again, as far as I know they never came back to the house.  So I was right back to square one and after about five years my wife went and got a divorce without my consent. She loved me enough to try to commit suicide before we got married which she did and almost died but after five years living with me she hated me as much as she loved me before we got married.

Then down the road I was married again and that ended in two years; no one could put up with me long and it was my entire fault!

Then I started going out with my wife that I am with now who partied with me for a while.  I met her in a bar but she was different, we lived together for about two and a half years and when we were going to get married, which is almost 39 years ago, I was very nervous, but she told me if I would marry her I would never be sorry and she was right on her side.  It was around three years after that, that I got truly committed to the Lord and not long after that she committed her life to the Lord also.  The drugs and pills, along with the partying, alcohol and cigarettes were gone almost immediately and I think the porn was well under control, but I still had psychological and emotional problems, I was a new man in Christ, praise the Lord, and then I became a Jesus freak for the Lord!!

The only reason I am typing this is to help others realize that they can be set free also just like I was.  I am no different than anyone else in God’s eyes, He loves everyone the same and what He’s done for anyone else He can do for you depending on how bad you want to be set free and how sick you are of your lifestyle!!  I don’t care what kind of bondage you are in, my God is the bondage breaker. This is some of my testimony but I have heard others that were worse than mine and they were set free also and so can you be, if you will truly repent of your sins and ask the Lord to forgive you and to come in and be your Lord and Savior.  The Bible says whom the Lord sets free is free indeed, praise the Lord!!  

I praise the Lord for what He has done in my life but I am still not the man I want to be, but thank the Lord I am not the man I used to be!!  Some people try to make the Christian life look like it is a walk in the park; like it’s a bowl of cherries, but take it from me some days it may seem like the pits.  When you receive the Lord as your Savior, the enemy of your soul is out to get you back, but remember this, when the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of Lord will raise a standard against him and no weapon formed against you shall prosper!!  And think of this, “Greater is He that is in you than he (the enemy of your soul) that is in the world,” praise the Lord!!

I pray that this will help you and be an encouragement for you.  PS don’t forget to thank and praise the Lord, no matter what the circumstance, for He is worthy!!  And let me add this; I did go from rags to riches and so can you.  So this is the conclusion of the whole matter: “Fear God and keep His commandments; for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgement, with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil.”  Check it out in Ecclesiastes 12:13-14.

The Banquet

A banquet is a place for feasting and drinking and having a great time.  It is a time of rejoicing with friends and family and neighbors, maybe people you haven’t seen for a while, just a fun time to get together and fellowship.  There may be music and dancing and singing.  I think most people would be glad to attend a banquet like I just described, but there is one that I hope no one misses out on and that is the wedding feast of the Lamb.

This is a feast that you don’t want to miss; it will have the very best of everything, but most important of all there will be God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit and we will be surrounded by the angels and all the saints that went before us who overcame by their testimony and the blood of the Lamb.

Jesus told a parable of a wedding feast in Matthew 22:1-14, “And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, and sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come. Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage. But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: and the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them. But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests. And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: and he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen.”

Two invitations were given, one inviting the guests, the other that everything was ready.  But instead of those who were invited coming to the feast, they made up excuses why they couldn’t come and some of them went so far as to mistreat His servants and even killed some of them.  At the time it was a custom to provide the guest with a wedding garment and no one that was invited to wear one would refuse; that would not happen.  As the story goes on Jesus tells of a man without a wedding garment on, which would represent the garment of righteousness that every true believer wears.  The sad thing is this man doesn’t have one and is thrown out into outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.  

From what I understand the following is where the weeping and gnashing of teeth and throwing out into outer darkness come from, if I remember this right.  Back in Bible times there were walls around almost every large city and the people would dump their trash over the wall and late at night lions would come there to eat the scraps that they could find.  At the time, when a person was tried for a crime and the authorities could not figure out whether the man was guilty or not, they would put a rope around his chest and put him down over the wall where the garbage was and leave him there all night.  When it was late at night there were lions that would come out of the woods to eat the scraps and sometimes they would maul the man as well, so when they heard and saw the lions coming they would be so scared they would gnash their teeth, grinding them down, and weep.  When they were brought up in the morning, if they were still alive they were found not guilty but the problem was that most of them were insane, if not insane, they were on the verge of insanity.  I got this information from a devotional by Rick Renner called ‘Sparkling Gems’ and as far as I know he still pastors in Russia.  I would recommend this devotional to everyone that is interested in learning the truth of God’s Word.

The saddest part of this story Jesus told, was when Jesus said, “many are called but few are chosen.”  So if you feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit today respond but repenting and turning away from your sins and don’t put it off.   Read 2 Corinthians 7:10, “For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.”

Now read the story of the marriage supper of the Lamb. In Revelations 19:6-9, “And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.”

There is only one way you will be in this wedding feast and that is to be born-again and to be covered by the righteousness of Christ; that is the garment you will have to be wearing to get into that feast.   There are people that believe that they will get into Heaven through different avenues, or paths, but Jesus said this, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no man cometh unto the Father but by me,” in John 14:6.  So there is no other way, Jesus said it and I believe it!!  

If you want to be at the Wedding Feast of the Lamb, you will have to repent of your sins, which is a conscience decision to turn away from your sins and to be covered with the righteousness of Christ and covered by His blood that He shed for all that would put their trust in Him.  I have given you something to think about and I hope you will not take this lightly.  May the good Lord bless you and yours and may you all have a nice day.  PS don’t forget to thank and praise the Lord for He is worthy!!  I hope this has been a blessing to everyone!!