Posted by: missionventureministries | July 26, 2018

GOD HELPS US TO RESIST THE DEVIL – 1 Corinthians 10:12-14

Therefore, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. Therefore, my dear friends flee from idolatry. (1 Corinthians 10:12-14)

Question; in the midst of the circumstances that surround you, are you living as a true Christian? Remember that if Christ lives in you, you: “Have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me“ (Galatians 2:20).  

God desires to transform your character and conduct in the likeness of the character and conduct of Jesus Christ. And He will do so to the extent that you allow Him.

If you daily renounce all self-confidence to depend solely on the Lord, and if you refrain from making independent decisions to accept and obey His will, then the glorious life of Christ will manifest in you.

It is possible, however, that it has been difficult for you to put into practice what you learned. The reason is that you have an enemy that wants to get in your way. This enemy is the devil. His purpose is to make you sin, and his weapon is temptation. But God is with you, and in His word He shows you the way to overcome.

In 1 Peter 5:8 we read these words, “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” The devil is angry with you because once you become a child of God, he has lost you. Before your conversion to Christ, as 2 Timothy 2:26 says, the devil held you captive to do his will. But if you are now born again it is not like that anymore; and according to Colossians 1:13 God has delivered you from the power of darkness and has transferred you to the kingdom of His beloved Son. In other words, you have changed citizenship; before you belonged to the kingdom of darkness, and the devil exercised authority over you. But now you are a citizen of the kingdom of Christ, and the devil is angry with you.

But the devil is also angry about the fact that now God intends to use you as a witness of His liberating power. If daily you allow Christ to live His life in you, then you will be an effective instrument in the hands of God so that other people may be saved.

To prevent such a thing from happening, the devil attacks you. His purpose is to make you sin. He knows that any sin breaks your intimate communion with God; “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear” (Isaiah 59:2), and we read in Psalm 66:18 that, “If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.” The devil also knows that when you turn away from the Lord, you can not bear fruit for Him, as John 15:5 teaches. Then, to weaken your Christian testimony, the devil tries to make you sin. The weapon he uses for this is temptation.

Now, we have to understand that being tempted is dangerous, but it is not the act of committing a sin. As Hebrews 4:15 teaches that the Lord Jesus “was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.” Sin does not consist in being tempted, but in yielding to temptation.

Second, God can turn the temptation of the devil into a means of blessing. James 1:12 says: “Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.“ This means that when the temptation is overcome the victorious believer is strengthened to fight better against future temptations.

The third encouraging thing is that God offers to help you overcome. His offer is found in 1 Corinthians 10:12-14 which is today’s verse. So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. Therefore, my dear friends flee from idolatry.

In this important passage verses twelve and fourteen are commandments, verse thirteen contains two promises. The promises are enclosed between the commandments. This indicates that they are closely related to each other. God will faithfully fulfill the two promises when you are equally faithful in obeying the two commandments.

The first commandment is that you do not trust yourself at all “if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!” Remember Peter’s case. He confidently told Jesus: “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will; … Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you” (Matthew 26:33, 35). And we all know the sad result. Therefore, the first thing you have to do to overcome the temptation is to distrust yourself and to totally depend on the Lord.

The second is: “flee from idolatry.” An idol is not just some image or figure. Anything that separates you from a supreme allegiance to God is an idol for you. So when you know that something tempts you to sin, you must run away from it.

Now, if you have obeyed these two commands, then you can fully confirm that God will fulfill His two promises. First, He will put a stop on your enemy. He will not allow you to face any temptation that you can not overcome. And secondly, together with the temptation He allows, He will give you an exit so that you do not fall into the trap.

So “resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7), and we can do so by constantly maintaining sobriety and vigilance against his seductions, and be careful to remain “firm in the faith.” Otherwise, the pseudo-intellectualism and the social pressure to which we are subjected daily could quickly persuade us to compromise the faith, or even to turn away from it.

We are commanded not to give up and to not compromise. Instead, we must “put on the full armor of God, that you may stand firm against the snares of the devil.” And we have to take “the shield of faith, with which you can quench all the fiery darts of the evil one, and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:11; 16-17).

This was the instrument with which the Lord Jesus Himself resisted the devil, rejecting every temptation with the word of God. The result then, as it will be with us, was that the devil “departed from Him for a season” (Luke 4:13).

Our victory is in Christ. Hebrews 2:18 says, “Because He himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted.” Thus, the closer we live to the Lord and His word, the safer we will be.

Satan has no power over a true child of God; because, Satan’s power was broken and completely shattered when Jesus was resurrected from the grave.  

But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:57)

For the Lord our God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory. (Deuteronomy 20:4)

 

For additional information click on the following link:

REALITIES OF SPIRITUAL WARFARE AND VICTORIOUS LIVING

 

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Posted by: missionventureministries | July 19, 2018

BEING A BARNABAS AND ENCOURAGING PEOPLE – John 7:38

“He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” (John 7:38)

Barnabas’ name was actually Joseph but he was such an uplifting person that the leaders of the early Christian church changed his name to Barnabas, which means “son of encouragement.”  

Barnabas was willing to take risks to give others a new start in life and that is what he did for Saul. Saul had made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison. Now while on a trip to the city of Damascus where he was planning on doing the same, he had an encounter that changed his life. He heard the voice of Jesus and saw a bright light. The voice said, “Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?” (Acts 9:4) 

Not recognizing the voice, Saul asked who the voice belonged to and was told “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting” (Acts 9:5). The brightness of Jesus’ light blinded Saul for three days. The voice of Jesus, whom Saul had been certain was dead, removed his spiritual blindness and allowed him to see that Jesus was the Messiah, just as the Christians that he had been persecuting had been saying. 

Now, Saul wanted nothing to do with his old life, all he wanted was to follow and teach everyone about Jesus. He began to share his new-found faith with people and was very effective in leading non-Christians to Christ. But he was less than effective in convincing the Christian leaders that he was authentic in his love for Jesus. 

This is when Barnabas stepped in: “Then Barnabas brought him to the apostles and told them how Saul had seen the Lord on the way to Damascus and how the Lord had spoken to Saul. He also told them that Saul had preached boldly in the name of Jesus in Damascus” (Acts 9:27). 

As we see, Barnabas not only “took him”, but walked with him to where the apostles were and vouched for his experience. We can be like Barnabas. We are to be generous disciples, who help “take people” to their calling, and their vocation. 

Paul, formally Saul was the lowest of the low in the eyes of the Christian leaders. Barnabas reached out and lifted Paul up in the eyes of others. From that time on, Paul was allowed to preach about Jesus and became one of the greatest Christian teachers in the early church. But none of it would have been possible without Barnabas, the son of encouragement. 

As we see, Barnabas obviously had influence with the leadership of the early Christian church. They listened respectfully as he told the story of what happened to Paul and how he had been changed. 

Standing in the gap causes the doubters to suspend judgment for a moment as they try to rationalize, “Why would you stake your reputation on this person?” 

Once you have convinced others to give the new person a go, you need to stand by them and encourage them! Barnabas modeled this well with Paul. He traveled and preached with Paul for a couple of years then moved on, to encourage the next young leader. 

Only trust makes this kind of encouragement possible. Paul trusted Barnabas and Barnabas trusted Paul to continue in the way he had been trained. Both of them moved into new spheres of influence as they allowed physical distance to come between them. 

Do you have a Barnabas in your life?  Do you have a friend who comes alongside of you and says: ‘I’m here for you?’  Or, ‘I love you.’  Or, ‘I know that with God’s help you can do it!’  – Because: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).

More important, are you a Barnabas?  If you have a personal relationship with Christ, you have the same resources that Barnabas had. He had heard Jesus’ message of salvation and glorious living through the power of God.  

The reason Barnabas could be such an encourager to others is that he believed in the greatest Encourager! God is the “Father of mercies and the God of all encouragement” (2 Corinthians 1:3). The grace of Jesus changed Barnabas into a son of the Father of encouragement!  So Barnabas learned to treat others the way God treated him. He knew the Source of encouragement, and he became a wonderful imitator of his Lord.  

God’s Word tells us that we too can be like Jesus (Ephesians 5:1).  How are you doing in this area of reflecting Christ?  Do you seek to encourage others? How are you encouraging your friends? Are you engaged in the ministry of encouragement? If people were asked to give you a nickname, as they did Barnabas, would “Encourager” apply to you?  

So how can we become a Barnabas?  Let’s consider specifically how our words can encourage others, just as Barnabas’s did. Consider Proverbs 18:21: “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”  That’s an amazing verse.  It says that we have the power, through words, to lift or subdue a spirit; so we must be careful to lift and not to make people feel worse, when they need encouragement.   

As Christians God wants us to be encourager to others, meaning, to give hope and to inspire others, opening up their eyes to their God given potential. There is a saying, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach him to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”  

Encouraging others is one of the most overlooked and undervalued life skills. No child becomes a healthy adult without a fair dose of encouragement and challenge from a significant adult. Without being encouraged, young people are left to wallow in meaningless activities and irresponsible living. Only through the gift of encouragement are people truly allowed to shine. 

The Lord said to Joshua: “Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9) 

And He encouraged Isaiah by telling him: “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10) 

Barnabas trusted God to make him the encourager that he became and he will do likewise for all that are willing to do the same. 

Remember, people don’t care about how much you know – until they know how much you care. 

“Lift up Jesus He’s the only one we really need to see,

Lift up Jesus He’s the only one who can fill the void in me.”

 

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Posted by: missionventureministries | July 12, 2018

THE IMPORTANCE OF HAVING UNITY IN THE CHURCH – 1 Corinthians 1:10

Unity is a critical manifestation of a Spirit-empowered church. That is why Paul told the Ephesian Christians to be “eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3). It’s why he wrote to the Corinthians: “I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought” (1 Corinthians 1:10).

In unity there is one body, one Spirit, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all (Ephesians 4:4-6). The challenges we face, the spiritual battles we fight, demand that we embrace the truth that true believers “are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28).

Paul calls for the believer’s in the church to be like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose (Philippians 2:2). Essentially he called them to be unified, to be one.

Where division might normally reign, unity should instead lead to a Christ like love, where believers listen to and bear with one another. Jesus said: “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35).

We must understand that God made every believer unique with different functions, and these differences make the body of Christ beautiful – Romans 12:4. Unity consequently, does not mean that everybody is the same but that we honor our differences and work together despite of them – 1 Corinthians 12:12-27.

Although we have different gifts and different callings, our common purpose is to glorify God in all that we, think, say and do (1 Corinthians 10:31). We glorify Him by living in obedience to His commands and by bearing much fruit (John 15:8, 10). We also glorify Him as we become more conformed to the image of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18) and by being holy because He is holy (1 Peter 1:16).

Christian unity is expressed by believers common mission which is to fulfill the Great Commission, to make disciples of all the nations (Matthew 28:19), and rejoice that Christ is being proclaimed (Philippians 1:15-18).

To be unified, Christians must develop the right attitudes, and believers must be unified in spirit. In Philippians 2:5 Paul says that every person should have the same “attitude” or “mind” as Christ. To be united in spirit means to care for one another as though we were caring for ourselves. This means to follow the golden rule, to love your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12:31). Therefore, when Christians develop the mind of Christ, it will be easy to have a unified church.

Christian unity is expressed by believers’ common belief; believing in the inspiration and authority of Scripture; the Trinity; the full deity and humanity of Jesus Christ; His substitutionary death on the cross; His bodily resurrection; His bodily second coming; and, salvation by grace through faith alone, apart from works.

If believers are to be unified, they must have the right spirit. They must forsake selfish ambition and vain glory. They must practice holiness and have the humility of a servant.

Christian unity is based on redemption. It is based on the fellowship we enjoy with all true believers who like us have experienced God’s forgiveness and who have been given eternal life. And Christian unity can only be experienced by true believers, those who have come to know the Father and the Son through the Holy Spirit.

Christian unity is based upon truth, but it is also based upon godly behavior. In the book of Revelation in the letters to the seven churches, Jesus warns about those who tolerate immorality in the church. Paul too, in his letter to the church in Corinth, says, “…you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler” (1 Corinthians 5:11). Paul is speaking of those who call themselves Christians but who do not live like Christians. He does not mean that we never talk to such people or never help them, no – but he is saying we cannot treat them as if they are true believers.

We need to understand that unity is absolutely essential because the true church is the “body of Christ” (1 Corinthians 12:27), and a body cannot be in disharmony with itself. If disunity occurs, it essentially ceases to be a body and becomes a disjointed group of individuals. We only will experience unity when we walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh, when we hold sincerely to the truth of God’s Word and when from the heart we seek to live a life of holiness that is pleasing to Him.

When a church does its work in a harmonious, unified way, and does so year after year while making Christ like decisions and accomplishing important ministries, the world notices. The outside world watches and sees, and people are drawn to Jesus.

This is what Jesus passionately prayed for, that His followers would be one: “Father, I pray that they all may be one…that the world may believe that You sent me…that they may be one just as we are one…” (John 17:20-23). This means that our unity is to be rooted in Christ’s own unity with the Father.

A unified church therefore, is one of the strongest evidences of the truth of the gospel. And through Him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work (Ephesians 4:16).

Humility is the foundation for holiness; holiness brings harmony to the church resulting in a healthy church filled with, love, joy, peace and unity in the body of believers.

 

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Posted by: missionventureministries | July 5, 2018

DEALING WITH SIN IN THE CHURCH – Matthew 18:15-17

“Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch…” (1 Corinthians 5:7) 

Paul is commanding the church in Corinth to get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch. Leaven or yeast in the Bible is represented by any type of sin. If you put a small amount of yeast in flour, it spreads throughout the entire lump (1 Corinthians 5:6). Paul is saying symbolically that the church needed to discipline the sinning man and if that did not work, they needed to expel the wicked person so that the purity of the church would be restored and the sin would not spread any further (vs. 5:13). 

This principle can be observed in a family. If parents do not consistently and impartially discipline a defiant child, very soon the other children learn that there are no consequences if they disobey their parents. The sin of the first child spreads to the others. The same thing happens in a classroom with a teacher who does not enforce discipline. Soon the entire class is out of control. On the government level, if the authorities do not enforce the laws, the whole country soon gives into anarchy. 

In the local church, God has given authority to godly elders who are living a holy life (Hebrews 13:17). Part of their responsibility is to uphold God’s standards of holiness and do all that they can to keep the church doctrinally and morally pure. Because, if we don’t uphold God’s standards of holiness, it doesn’t take long for the church to become just like the world.  

Scripture is clear that the church is to be distinct from the world by being separated unto God, who is holy. The church needs to be willingly to distance itself from this corrupt world. As 1 John 2:15 states, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” 

We need to understand that the Bible is clear that we cannot love our brothers and sisters in Christ if we do not deal with their sins in the way that God orders. God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in His holiness…and He chastens everyone He accepts as his son (Hebrews 12:10, Hebrews 12:6). We need to understand that sin destroys people and relationships; therefore, to be indifferent toward someone who is sinning is really to hate that person. 

Sin is like leaven, it spreads. It’s like a contagious disease that if not taken care of will infect others. That’s why James 5:19-20 says, “my brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone  turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death...” Christian love seeks to turn a sinner from his sin by applying God’s love and His Word. 

The goal in church discipline is never vindictive. We are not seeking to punish people or to throw them out of the church. Our aim is to restore the offender. In Galatians 6:1, Paul writes, “brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted;” meaning that we are to do it without being arrogant, but gently, remembering that gentleness does not mean weakness, but strength under the control of the Holy Spirit.  

Some might ask, “what if it doesn’t work?” The answer is we need to be obedient to God and leave the results to Him. There is no biblical guarantee that it will work every time. Jesus said, “if your brother or sister sins go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over” (Matthew 18:15). 

The objective is not to “get things off our chest” by letting the sinning person know how wrong they are. The aim is to get them to listen to what Scripture has to say to win them back to the Lord because God’s Word is the ultimate authority. 

Jesus says that if you have knowledge of your brother in Christ’s sin, then you are the one to go to him. Before going we need to pray and ask for guidance and discernment from our heavenly Father. We need to check our own heart, to make sure that we have taken any log out of our own eyes (Matthew 7:3-5). And we need to check our motives to make sure that we are not going to try to prove that they are wrong and we are right, because if that is the case we are going for the wrong reason.  

We also need to make sure that we get true facts. If someone tells us about someone else’s sin, tell the informant to go directly to the sinning person following these biblical guidelines. We do not go to someone on the basis of hearsay or gossip, unless we are personally going to find out the facts. We need to go in gentleness and wisdom received through prayer, with the aim of restoring the brother to God and to those he has wronged. If the sinning person knows that we genuinely care for them, they will be more likely to listen and respond positively. 

If the person does not listen to us, Jesus says to take two or three witnesses (Matthew 18:16). These may be others who know of the problem or it may include church leaders. The point is to strengthen the reproof and to cause the offender to realize the seriousness of the situation. The goal is to bring the sinner to repentance and restoration. 

And in last resort Jesus says: If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector (Matthew 18:17). 

If the sin has to be made public, if someone’s sin is damaging the reputation of the church, he needs to be exposed and removed from the fellowship quickly. 

If after a while, the person expresses genuine repentance, which involves godly sorrow over their sin (2 Corinthians 7:10) and repent and turn to God and demonstrate their repentance by their deeds (Acts 26:20), then the church should be informed and the person should be forgiven and accepted back into the fellowship. The restoration process, however, needs to include training to help the person grow and avoid the sin in the future. 

A church should be a fellowship of forgiven sinners who, by God’s grace, are pursuing a life of holiness and obedience to our Lord. We dare not fall into spiritual pride by thinking that we are better than a member who has fallen into sin. Paul says that our response to sin in a church member should be to mourn (1 Corinthians 5:2). 

We need to be mindful that if we do not deal with those who refuse to repent of sin as the Lord commands, His church will soon blend in with the world and the salt will lose its savor. The Lord warns that He will come and remove our lampstand (Revelation 2:5).  

Consequently, we must practice biblical church discipline toward those who profess being Christians and who persist in sin. And we need to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to Himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless (Ephesians 5:26-27). 

So watch out and, “See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.” (Colossians 2:8).

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Posted by: missionventureministries | July 4, 2018

TRUE FREEDOM – 1 Peter 2:15-16

“For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men—as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God.” (1 Peter 2:16) 

We who live in what the song writer called the “sweet land of liberty” have a great responsibility to preserve that freedom which our forefathers obtained for us at great cost over two centuries ago. At the same time, we must not turn liberty into license. It would surely hurt those brave and godly men if they could see how we now use “freedom of choice” to justify murdering multitudes of innocent children before they are born, and how we use “freedom of speech” to warrant fouling the eyes and ears of our children with widespread pornography and to promote all kinds of immoral behavior in our society in general. No nation can remain free very long after such practices become widely accepted by its citizens. We need to pray for revival! 

The same warning applies to the abuse of our spiritual freedom in Christ. As the apostle Paul said and repeated: “All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not helpful” (1 Corinthians 6:12); and he added that “all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify” (1 Corinthians 10:23). 

As Peter says in our text, even though we are “free” and have real “liberty,” we are nevertheless “servants of God,” where the Greek word ‘doulos’ actually means “bond servants,” or even “slaves.” Our liberty in Christ is not freedom to sin whenever we so choose, but rather freedom from our former bondage to sin. “And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness” (Romans 6:18). 

Although our nation is rapidly becoming anti-Christian in belief and practice, we Christians can still best serve our nation and our Savior by practicing and proclaiming Christ’s wonderful saving gospel of free salvation from sin and regeneration unto righteousness.

May God bless you as you seek to live a holy life and to do His will.

Mission Venture Ministries

Anytime, Anything, Anywhere for Jesus, because He is so worthy

 

 

SOURCE: http://icr.org

 

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Posted by: missionventureministries | June 28, 2018

THE HOLY SPIRIT FILLED CHRISTIAN – 1 Corinthians 2:15

“We who have the Holy Spirit are able to make judgments about all these things. But anyone without the Holy Spirit is not able to make proper judgments about us.” (1 Corinthians 2:15) 

A Holy Spirit filled person is one who is born again spiritually through faith in Christ and the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit, and who has a burning desire to follow the leading of the indwelling Spirit and to understand and obey the precepts of the Bible inspired by Him. 

A Holy Spirit filled person will have “the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16), and is able to judge all things by spiritual standards and biblical revelation. They will “walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit,” knowing that “to be spiritually minded is life and peace” (Romans 8:4, 6). As such, spiritual believers prayerfully make decisions seeking God’s will; they are “led by the Spirit of God” (Romans 8:14). And since they “walk in the Spirit,” they “shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16). 

They will be “filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18) for Christian service. Furthermore, they will manifest “the fruit of the Spirit” in their lives and personalities, which are, “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23). 

Non-Christians cannot understand God, and they cannot grasp the concept that God’s Spirit lives in believers. Don’t expect the majority of people to approve of, or understand your decision to follow Christ. It all seems so foolish to them. Just as a deaf person cannot appreciate fine music, the person who rejects God cannot understand God’s beautiful message. And with no lines of communications they will not be able to hear what God is saying to them. Therefore, while “he that has the Holy Spirit indwelling in them” is thereby able to discern and evaluate all things by such divine standards, they find themselves often misunderstood by their unsaved relatives and acquaintances, because, “the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14). 

We must however not remain silent in our sharing the gospel. We should not accept unbeliever’s excuse of reading but not understanding. We need to make ourselves available to open up eyes and need to teach the truth of God’s word as opportunities present themselves. Someone’s question could be evidence that God’s Spirit is drawing them to the point of making a decision for Christ. We need to remember that no one can comprehend God (Romans 11:34), this comes only through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and an intimate relationship with Christ from spending time consistently in His presence and in His Word. This is the only way a believer can obtain the “mind of Christ.” 

Philippians 2:5 states: “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” Meaning that Jesus was willing to give up His rights in order to obey God and serve people. Like Christ, we should have a servant’s attitude, serving out of love for God and for others, by teaching them His Word. 

So let us proclaim to the unsaved: cast off the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light (Romans 13:12), and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts (Romans 13:14). 

Along with this, we are to “put off, the old man concerning your former conduct” and then to “put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:22, 24). 

And finally we must “put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11). 

These items of spiritual clothing, the power of the Holy Spirit, the light of God’s presence, the new man in Christ, the resurrection life of the indwelling Christ, His imputed righteousness and holiness and all our spiritual armor, provide the foundation for beautiful spiritual clothing. “Since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him: . . . Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, long-suffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection” (Colossians 3:9-10, Colossians 3:12-14). 

A lifestyle of obedience brings an awareness of the Holy Spirit’s indwelling (1 John 3:24). And those filled by the Holy Spirit show by their deeds Whom they serve (1 John 3:7). “Therefore by their fruits you will know them” (Matthew 7:20). 

Please remember that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17); and that we should be doers of the word, and not only hearers, thereby deceiving ourselves. (James 1:22) 

A Spirit filled life and godly character await those who choose God over self.

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Posted by: missionventureministries | June 21, 2018

JESUS PREACHES IN THE SYNAGOGUE IN NAZARETH – Luke 4:18-19

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.” (Luke 4:18-19) 

The Lord read this beautiful verse written by the prophet Isaiah referring to Himself, preaching from it in the synagogue in Nazareth and proclaiming: “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears” (Luke 4:21). Note that He came to preach the gospel to the humble and not the proud. 

He also came to set the captives free. This reminds us of the year of Jubilee spoken of in Leviticus 25 and is defined as the sabbatical year after seven cycles of seven years (49 years). The fiftieth year was to be a time of celebration and rejoicing for the Israelites. 

The Year of the Jubilee involved a year of release from indebtedness (Leviticus 25:23-38) and all types of bondage (vv. 39-55). All prisoners and captives were set free, all slaves were released, all debts were forgiven, and all property was returned to its original owners. In addition, all labor was to cease for one year, and those bound by contract were released from them. One of the benefits of the Jubilee was that both the land and the people were able to rest. 

The Jubilee presents a beautiful picture of the New Testament themes of redemption and forgiveness. Christ is the Redeemer who came to set free those who are slaves and prisoners to sin – “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:1-2). 

The debt of sin we owe to God was paid on the cross as Jesus died on our behalf – “When you were dead in your transgressions and the un-circumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross” (Colossians 2:13-14), and we are forgiven the debt forever. We are no longer in bondage, no longer slaves to sin, and having been freed by Christ we can truly enter the rest God provides. 

When Christ quoted “opening of the prison”, He actually expanded and interpreted it as follows: “And recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed” (Luke 4:18). 

The “prison” that Christ came to open is evidently a spiritual prison, a blinding of the mind. “So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36), and free from the bondage of sin translates to us becoming “a royal priesthood…a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9). 

Opening of the prison to those who are bound also had an additional meaning because after His crucifixion, while His body was in the tomb, His spirit descended into Hades where the spirits of all who had died in faith were awaiting Him, and “when he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and . . . ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things” (Ephesians 4:8, 10). 

The good news is that we are still in the “favorable year of the Lord;” it is the year when we are restored and set free. It is the year when we accept Jesus as our Messiah and acknowledge the need for a Savior and decide that we are going to serve Him, praise Him, worship Him, honor Him, seek Him and obey Him for the rest of our life. 

Jesus has anointed us to be His ambassador, indwelled by the Spirit to bring the message of good news, as we help fulfill Christ’s great commission. The gospel is being preached to the poor, the blind are seeing, and the captives are being set free. Will you believe, receive and be set free?

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Posted by: missionventureministries | June 14, 2018

TRUE AND FALSE DISCIPLES – Matthew 7:21-23

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’’ (Matthew 7:21-23)

According to these verses, who enters the kingdom? It is “…he who does the will of My Father in heaven”. Now what does it mean to “do the will of God”? 

Jesus warned His disciples about the broad road that leads to destruction, and following in verse 15 He warns about the danger of false prophets who lead people down that broad road. Verses 16 through 20 He tells them how to distinguish a genuine prophet from a false prophet. Very simply, Jesus says you will know them by their fruits. You must examine them very closely, because the better the counterfeit, the more carefully it must be examined before it is possible to determine that it is counterfeit. Jesus is saying that the doctrines they teach and the character of their lives reveal whether they belong to God or not. 

Then in verses 21-23 Jesus enforces His warning by saying that many of the false prophets will do and say wonderful and impressive things – “…they prophesied in His name, cast out demons in His name, and did many wonders in His name.” They do some very impressive things, but they are not of God. In verse 20 Jesus again says: “Therefore by their fruits you will know them.” 

So, the context of verses 21-23 is dealing with the false prophets. These false prophets may say, “Lord, Lord”, but they are not of God. 

A person can call Jesus Lord and not know who He is. The title “Lord” does not indicate that a person has a belief in Christ. Before Paul was convicted on the road to Damascus he called Jesus Lord but did not know who He was: “Who are You, Lord?” Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting” (Acts 9:3-5). As we see, he calls Him Lord but doesn’t know who He is. 

Many could also be calling Jesus Lord in a hypocritical sense, meaning they’re calling Him Lord, but they don’t really believe in Him. Jesus called them: “You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you: ‘This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me. ‘But in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men'” (Matthew 15:7-9). So, the fact that they call Jesus Lord does not mean that they believe in who He truly is. 

We need to remember what Jesus said: “but he who does the will of My Father in heaven”. Jesus is clearly saying that only those whose life is characterized by obedience to all that the Father has commanded will have the privilege of being with Him for all eternity. He told them: “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.” (John 6:35-40)

Being a Christian is more than just believing the right things, you must obey, which means to hear God’s Word and act accordingly. Biblical obedience to God means, simply, to hear, trust, submit and surrender to God and his Word. “Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed” (John 8:31).

The New Testament teaches that salvation is by grace through faith. Faith is the instrumental means; grace is the efficient means of our salvation. We’re saved by Jesus Christ. We’re saved by His grace through faith. But we need to realize that Jesus also said:  “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15). That means that we need to be obedient.

Many people think getting saved means saying, “the sinner’s prayer” and then living life the way they used to. They believe some mystical thing happens at reciting a few words.

We need to understand that we must repent and forsake our sins and obey God’s word. As we keep reading the Bible and obeying what we read, the word will wash us and, by God’s grace, incredible changes will occur. Grace is defined as the divine influence which operates in humans to regenerate and sanctify and to impart strength to endure trial and resist temptation; it is a virtue of divine origin.

1 Peter 1:15-16 tells us: But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.” 

And Paul writes to young Timothy: “Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity” (2 Timothy 2:19).  

The world is filled with false prophets who are speaking from lying spirits. These false prophets claim to speak for the Lord. But their message is not a message of repentance and obedience. It is a message of prosperity and blessings. Certainly we are blessed by the Lord, but our message is always to be a message of turning from the world, and turning to the Lord.

People say, “I believe Jesus is Lord,” yet they use filthy language, will not hear of repenting and stopping of doing evil, love everything this wicked world has to offer, don’t feel convicted of sin, and are not interested in the things of God. Does this person really believe they are going to heaven?

Many professed Christians do whatever they feel like doing no matter what – fornicating, watching all manner of wickedness and blasphemy on television, going to the movie theater to watch demonic movies, reading “satanic books”, etc. while claiming to be saved. 

Unsaved people do what Satan wants them to do.  Saved people are under the Lord’s commands. Where do you stand? We are either obedient or disobedient. Those who are living without regard for the righteousness of God, using God’s grace as a license to sin, and trusting grace to cleanse of sin are giving church people a false name. If Jesus is not your Lord and Master, he is not your Savior.

Saving faith will manifest itself in change. If no change occurs in a person’s life, we have plenty of scriptures to let us know that true conversion never took place to begin with.

We are not saved by our works, but when we are saved; our life will certainly reflect that decision by our good works. “Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (James 2:17). Do you obey God’s word?

The kingdom of heaven is not for those who merely address Jesus as Lord with their words, but who acknowledge Jesus as their Lord in their behavior. This contrast is made clearer in Luke’s version where Jesus says, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?” (Luke 6:46) 

If you do not do the will of the Father, if you call Jesus Lord but don’t do what He says, you need to examine your relationship with Him. If you suspect that Jesus does not know you as this passage describes, you need to address it with Him in prayer right now. Go to Him and ask Him to save you and that you want Him to be the Lord of your life. 

  • Admit – and confess that you are a sinner and cannot attain eternal life by myself. Repent and turn away from your sin. (Romans 3:23)
  • Believe – and trust that Jesus Christ is God’s only Son who was crucified for your sins. (Romans 5:8)
  • Commit – and give your life to Jesus Christ and ask Him to be Savior and Lord of your life. (Romans 10:9) 

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Posted by: missionventureministries | June 7, 2018

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO HAVE TRUE FREEDOM IN CHRIST? – Galatians 5:1

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. (Galatians 5:1) 

The Bible tells us that we are either slaves to sin or slaves to righteousness. Those who are slaves to sin cannot free themselves from it, but once we are freed from the penalty and power of sin through believing in His atoning sacrifice on the cross and making Jesus the Lord of our life, we become a different kind of slave, and find complete peace and true freedom in Christ. 

Why, then, do so many so called ‘Christians’ continue living as though they are still in bondage? It is because they are, and those with false faith do not recognize their own slavery to sin. Sin is the ultimate cause of evil, suffering and the lack of freedom. So, what does God want us to do about sin? Why does He command us to repent, and what is repentance? 

The Bible shows that repentance is a significant, personal, life-changing decision, because, repentance is characterized by an understanding of the seriousness of sin, a deep desire to be forgiven and a determined commitment to change our behavior and thoughts in order to stop sinning. Repentance is an unconditional surrender to God and to seek to do what God tells us. 

If we do not repent, we cannot be forgiven or receive the gift of eternal life and instead, we will receive the penalty of death that we deserved. But if we repent and submit to God, He will forgive and provide the help we need to change and prepare us for eternal life (Acts 3:19). 

Paul tells the Ephesians with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:22–24). 

A true Christian realizes that he has been crucified with Christ (Galatians 2:20) and that he has been reborn as a complete new creature (2 Corinthians 5:17). The Christian life is one of death to self and being re-born to “walk in the newness of life” (Romans 6:4), and that new life is characterized by obedience to Jesus who saved us. 

It is vital that we strengthen the new freed nature by continually feeding on the Word of God, and through prayer to obtain the power we need to escape the desire to return to the old life of sin. Then we will realize that our new status as slaves to Christ is the only true freedom, and we will call upon His power to “not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires” (Romans 6:12). 

Jesus said: “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:34-36).  Freedom in Christ is the only true form of freedom, because it provides lasting freedom beyond this life. On the other hand, those with false faith are trusting in their own righteousness or religion to save them, not in Christ alone. 

A person who has experienced true freedom in Christ is called to live as His servant. The apostle Paul was an example of this, as many of his letters began with the introduction of himself as a “servant of Christ Jesus” (Romans 1:1). True freedom comes from knowing Christ through genuine faith, which comes by studying His word and consequently obeying His commandments. 

Remember, sin enslaves people causing spiritual death and eternity apart from God. Knowing Christ provides freedom from the control of sin, and eternal life with Him. 

We are set free to serve Christ because Christ’s word is the truth that truly sets us free when we abide in it. When we truly believe in Christ, He gives us the desire to please Him and gives us the ability to obey Him as we walk in the Spirit who lives in us. He gives us opportunities daily to say no to sin and selfishness and to serve others with love.

The most beautiful words a Christian wants to hear from Jesus is, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21), but first make sure you are really saved. The unbelieving will never hear those words, for “without faith it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6). And recognize that Jesus is not only your Savior; He also asks:  “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46).

And the most devastating words anyone believing to be a Christian will ever hear is: “Away from me, you evildoers!’ Because, “not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you’” (Matthew 7:21-23).

Please know that a true born again Christian has freedom in Christ, because the Scriptures tell us: “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death” (Romans 8:1-2).

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Posted by: missionventureministries | May 31, 2018

IS GOD TRYING TO GET YOUR ATTENTION? – Psalm 119:67

Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep Your word. (Psalm 119:67) 

To get our attention, God will allow suffering, sickness, adversity, anguish, trials, tribulations, and heartaches in our life. 

Your life may be one disaster after another, mostly because of your disobedience to God. In fact, God is always trying to get our attention, but sometimes we won’t listen until we have to pass through times of hardship or pain. 

God loves us, and He doesn’t want us to go through life from one crisis to another, instead, He wants us to build our life on a solid foundation which is founded on the truth of His Holy Word. If God didn’t love us, He wouldn’t bother trying to get our attention. 

He wants us to understand that we need Him. We need God’s forgiveness, His guidance and direction in life. We were not created only for this life, but for eternity, and God desire is for us to be with Him forever in heaven, that is why He sent His Son to teach us and to pay the price on the cross for our sins. Jesus came into the world to re-unite us with the Father. The Bible says, “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18). 

God used tragedy to bring people to Himself. Prior to accepting God’s call, Jonas fled from Nineveh and got on a boat, hoping this would get him away from what God was calling him to do. Shortly after the boat left the shore, a very bad storm came and started tossing the boat around. All the men were very afraid and they soon realize that Jonah was the cause, and he was tossed into the stormy waters, in hopes of appeasing an angry God. Jonah is then swallowed by a whale and while in the belly of the whale he finally comes to his senses and accepts his ‘call’. 

Maybe something radical, tragic has happened to you lately: bad news from a doctor, an accident or a close brush with death. Or maybe something else has gotten your attention. 

God wants what is best for us. For this reason, He will discipline us if we persist in sin, and will administer correction if we dishonor His name and His commands that are in the Bible. He says, “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent” (Revelation 3:19). 

Please understand that, “though the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, if you trust and obey Him, your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left” (Isaiah 30:20-21), and “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you” (Isaiah 43:2). 

If we try to cover up our disobedience and rebellion God will remove your sense of peace and joy, and the Holy Spirit will keep us under deep conviction until we humble ourselves and repent of our sin and rebellion. Some people have a tendency to exhibit a continuously disobedient and rebellious spirit; therefore, these people may have to be constantly chastised with losses and sometimes chronic pain to keep them from wrecking their lives and causing further dishonor to our Holy God. 

Always remember that God loves you: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11).

Through trials and tribulations hopefully we will become wiser and will finally see things in a different light. We will know the difference between things that are truly valuable and those that are worthless, and thank the Lord by realizing that: “It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees” (Psalm 119:71). 

Just like the Psalmist, we too must learn that God’s word is essential to our spiritual growth and life, for without it we will wander and suffer many avoidable afflictions. 

Suffering and affliction helps us to learn God’s ordinances, it teaches us how to obey His Word and it helps us not to forget His Word, but to affirm, apply and obey it. It was not until after the Psalmist was afflicted that he changed his course into the right way of keeping God’s word, and we are no different than he.  

The Psalmist pain lead him back to the Lord and where he once served self, did what was right in his own eyes, he now obeys God’s Word. 

For many who are stubborn, disobedient and resentful, it is in troubles, crisis, pain, struggles and suffering where true spiritual growth takes place. So, let us, “Observe what the Lord your God requires: Walk in obedience to Him, and keep His decrees and commands, His laws and regulations…Do this so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go” (1 Kings 2:3). 

Could it be that God is trying to get your attention? How much pain and loss will you have to endure until you fully surrender your disobedient spirit to Him and start obeying His Holy Word?

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