Category: Jesus the Light

Jesus the Light   13    Forgiveness 2

It is true that God’s people forgive as He forgives. Those are the true believers. It is also true that God forgives us as we forgive others. Mt.6:2: “And forgive us our sins as we ourselves have forgiven those who have sinned against us.”

But any who lack forgiveness, are blind or shortsighted, or have never encountered at all the Christ who forgives. Lk.6:37: “Do not condemn, and you shall not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven.”

Indeed, Jesus has taught us to pray: Lk.11:4: “Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who is has sinned against us.” In effect we are asking God to forgive us in the same way we forgive others.

Do we forgive quickly? Is our forgiveness complete? Are we holding grudge and malice? Is it our wish to see offenders against us punished? Are kindness and mercy extended to those we forgive?

Do we actually wish God to forgive us in the same way we forgive others? It is a prayer. How do we wish God to answer that prayer? In what way will God forgive us? Let us be freely forgiving.

But how often must we forgive? Lk.17:3,4: “If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.”

Mt.18:21,22: “‘How often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.’”

Forgiveness of others is to be extended an uncountable number of times. Do we actually keep record? Are we taking note of any and every offense, however small it might be? How many sins has God forgiven us? Ps.40:12: “My iniquities have overtaken me…they are more numerous than the hairs of my head.”

How many hairs are on your head? How many sins has God forgiven you? How many times must you forgive others? If you will forgive as God forgives you, you must forgive an uncountable number of times. It is what God does; it is what true believers do. Forgive.

Rm.12:14: “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.” Mt.5:44: “But I say to you, ‘love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.’”

A forgiving heart is at peace with obeying these commands. But a disobedient heart is never at rest. It is always vexed and discontent. It remains struggling and resistant against Christ and His forgiving purposes because that heart is unwilling to freely forgive.

Vengeance belongs to God. He alone knows the hearts of men. Only God truly knows the proper judgment and punishment. Our judgment may be too severe, or it may be insufficient. The Lord is the only One who can judge in righteousness.

Prov.20:22: “Do not say, ‘I will repay evil;’ Wait for the Lord, and He will save you.”  Prov.24:17,18: “Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles; Or the Lord will see it and it displease Him, and He will turn away His wrath from Him.”

We dare not seek revenge; that belongs to God. We dare not delight in the calamity of others; that also belongs to God. Whether then we are either seeking harm or are glad when it occurs, our hearts are not right. Malice is present in both cases. Forgiveness is absent in either situation.

Rm.12:19: “Never take your own revenge, beloved, but give place to wrath, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord.” We are not qualified to avenge evil. We excuse what God condemns and we punish what God excuses. We are unfit for this work.

Vengeance is His; forgiveness is ours. Ours is to forgive, to hold no grudge, to seek no calamity, to send away thoughts of disaster and harm. When we do that, we are free from guilt because love triumphs in our hearts.

Forgiving also gives “place to wrath.” It clears the way for God to judge properly. It commits to His justice the righteous judgment that He alone knows needs to fall upon evil men. When we forgive, God will act for the sake of His servants; He will act for the sake of His great Name.

Our part is to forgive. God’s part is to either forgive or avenge; that is His right. Ps.99:8: “O Lord our God, You answered them; You were a forgiving God to them, and yet an avenger of their evil deeds.”

Beloved, let us forgive. God forgives us when we forgive others. God judges us when we seek to judge others. Let us forgive; leave vengeance with the Lord.

Dear Listener, Heb.12:15 says: “See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God, that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by this many become defiled.” The grace of Christ is the cure for bitterness, resentment, grudge, malice, vengeance, hatred, and anger. These evils defile not only you, but everyone you come in contact with.

But the fruit of the grace from God is forgiveness. That grace enables us to send these things away, to release those poisonous bitter roots in the heart, to freely forgive.

James 3:14-16: “But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, there is disturbance and every evil thing.”

The glad gospel of Jesus is designed to set us free from these dark deeds of wickedness, to release us from being imprisoned by malice and rage. In Isa.61:1 Jesus said: “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to bring good news to the afflicted. He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners.”

Those who do not forgive remain in dark dungeons of hatred, envy, and strife. Prison remains the portion of the unforgiving. Christ’s very purpose of coming to release you from malice and bitterness is to no avail; and you are the cause.

You are yet held captive in bondage to resentment and strife. Vengeance and thoughts of harm still run darkly in your heart because you have not forgiven. And so salvation is far from you, for you have not been saved from the very evil Christ came to redeem you from.

It is no small matter, this thing of forgiveness.

Dear Listener, so what are you waiting for? Uproot the poisonous defiling bitterness from your heart. Dismiss all hatred and resentment. Pour cold water on the smoldering fires of vengeance. Release the caged birds of malice. Be free.

Freely forgive and Christ’s freedom will be yours.

Copyright Steve Phillips 2020

 

 

Jesus the Light   12   Forgiveness

 Judgment will be merciless to the one who has shown no mercy -James 2:13

Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow servant, In the same way that I had mercy on you? -Mt.18:33

Bitterness in the heart blocks forgiveness from heaven. Malice against man means mercy is missing. Holding grudge against others withholds pardon from the Father above. Seeking vengeance upon people brings God’s wrath upon ourselves.

You cannot be forgiven by God if you do not forgive men. Mt.6:15: “If you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.” This is the uncompromising decree of heaven.

The word “forgive” means to send away, a dismissal/release. Nothing is kept in the heart against another; it is released and sent away. No bitterness abides.

Malice, that vicious character wishing harm to others, is absent. Envy with its displeasure at others’ blessings along with the smoldering desire to see them deprived of it, has vanished.

You have forgiven; you are holding nothing in your heart for harm against another, because you have sent that away. That is forgiveness. The memory of a misdeed done may remain, but it is not remembered against them in anger, bitterness, and grudge.

In forgiveness there is freedom from an agitated heart, stirred by anger and fueled by resentment. If we have released our desire to see evil come upon one who has wronged us, then we have forgiven. We are free.

But the person who retains anger, resentment, bitterness, malice, and grudge is never free; he is a prisoner of his own disturbed heart and the sin lurking therein. And every time the bars of his cage are rattled by a memory, a mention, or an appearance of the offender, his chain tightens.

The eyes will narrow; the smile flees, darkness clouds his brow, lips curl in contempt, the neck stiffens, and the tongue is let loose with flames. One moment he may be blessing God above, the next he is cursing men who have been made in God’s image. My brethren, these things ought not to be [Jas.3:9,10].

And why is it so? Because he has not forgiven. The wound is fresh and bleeding still, and he wishes the other to bleed as well. And thus he forfeits forgiveness from heaven.

Mk.11:25,26: “When you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your sins. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your sins.”

Lack of forgiveness keeps us prisoners still and shows that we are yet captives who have not known the freedom of Christ’s glad gospel. Do not deceive yourself; in the final day, this will determine the verdict of the King against each one.

Mt.18:33-35: “Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you? And his Lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him. So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you does not forgive his brother his sins from his heart.”

Forgiveness is not optional if you wish to be forgiven. Our one new man in Christ Jesus is not characterized by “anger, wrath, malice, slander, and foul abusive speech” -Col.3:8. No, these are the things that we have laid aside having been joined to Christ.

Those are the old things that have gone. Tit.3:2,3: “Slander no one, be peaceable, gentle, showing complete courtesy to all people. For we too were once foolish, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our lives in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another.”

Yes, once we were so, but not now. A wonderful change has taken place in the heart of every true believer joined to Christ. Things are different when forgiveness has come.

Col.3:12,13: “Therefore, as the chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of mercy, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.”

These are the things that characterize every true believer in Christ Jesus. They are like that because Christ is that way. He does not hold grudge. He is not seeking revenge against us for our misdeeds. He does not retain anger against us for our sins against Him. He is not wishing evil to befall us. Jesus has forgiven us and so all those things have been sent away. Christ retains no wrath and condemnation against His own.

And so it is also with those within whom He dwells. Since Christ is living in the hearts of His people, they also have put away evil thoughts and desires against others. They forgive because Christ forgives.

And they forgive in the same way He forgives. Heb.10:17: “And their sins and lawless deeds I will remember no more.” He knows what evils we have committed, but He has sent away all thoughts of punishment or wishes of harm against us because of them. This is forgiveness.

Col.2:13: “God made you alive together with Christ, having forgiven us all our transgressions.” This is the wonderful forgiveness all real Christians have received and experienced. It is the same type of forgiveness that we are to extend to others.

Eph.4:31,32: “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and quarreling and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.”

How? How are we to forgive even as God has forgiven us? Ps.103:10-12: “He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities…As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.”

He has removed/sent away our sins; this is forgiveness, to send away thoughts of punishment and revenge so they are never seen or brought to mind again. It is what we are to do towards those who have offended us.

“You have cast all my sins behind Your back” [Isa.38:17]. Our sins are not before His face or kept in His heart against us; they are cast behind Him. There they cannot be seen or called to remembrance in vexation. Let us then forgive in this same way.

Micah 7:18: “Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage?” Yes, He passes over them, not rising up in wrath and rage, punishment and harm.

We must forgive as He has forgiven us; this is the repeated message of the Scriptures. How like our God are we in this? In what ways does our forgiveness resemble His own?

Prov.10:12: “Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all transgressions.” Prov.17:9: “He who covers a transgression seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates friends.” Prov.19:11: “A man’s discretion makes him slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook a transgression.” 1 Pet.4:8: “Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.”

Love does not stir up sin and evil; it does not keep digging it up to avenge wrongs done. Love and forgiveness send away offenses. Love releases thoughts of punishment and harm against the offender. Forgiveness is freedom indeed.

Copyright Steve Phillips 2019

 

 

Jesus the Light 11:    Prayer  [part 2]

If I regard wickedness in my heart, the Lord will not hear -Ps.66:18

Hindrances to genuine prayer are numerous, but the root of each is one and the same. Isa.59:2: “Your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.” If one would pray in God’s will, he must live according to His will. Jn.15:7: “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”

If one is abiding in fellowship with the Lord Jesus by obeying His Word, he will ask according to God’s will and not his own. Self-willed people are neither abiding in Christ nor obedient to His Word. They therefore ask according to their own wishes, not from desires arising from communion with their Lord.

Ps.106:13-15 describes such people who forgot His ways. They did not wait for His counsel, but plunged headlong into repeated demands from the lusts of their hearts.

Their “prayer” was answered: “He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul” -Ps.106:15. Persisting in demanding our own will may be granted by the Lord; but it will be done so in His wrath and to our spiritual demise.

Prayer is not a technique to get things from God. It rather must be offered according to His will and for His glory, not from the unworthy motive of gaining for self. Such prayers are worthless words. James 4:2-4: “You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend it on your pleasures. You adulterers and adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God?”

Spiritual prostitution best describes “prayers” arising from our own selfish desires.  It is what Israel did in the wilderness. It is what the church does through PC.

Only as we diligently seek to know and obey the Word of God will our prayers be ordered aright. It is from the Scriptures that we gain insight into the will of God.  Only with such knowledge can we properly present our requests. Prov.28:9: “He who turns away his ear from listening to the law, even his prayer is an abomination.”

Simply put, if we will not listen to God’s Word, He will not hear ours. If we have no heart to know, obey, and then to pray in His will, He has no ear for our useless words. Zech.7:13: “‘And just as He called and they would not listen, so they called and I would not listen,’ says the Lord of hosts.” “Prayer” such as that is an abomination.

Such are the “decrees” of PC. Monstrous folly has arisen from twisting Scriptures from their contexts to “support” the delusion of PC as if it were actually prayer. The KJV of Isaiah 45:11 has become a stronghold for this deception: “Ask Me of things to come concerning My sons, and concerning the work of My hands command ye Me.”

And thus deceived, demanding, and arrogant souls decree their destinies, confess their portions, possess their possessions, and command the Most High to bow to their decrees. What depraved wickedness.

Isa.45:9,10 asks these questions: “Shall the clay direct and dominate the potter? Shall the child question, guide, and reprove the parent?” God forbid; this could never be. But this is what PC presumes to do; it is not prayer; it is nothing more than proud presumption. Listen to the true sense of Isa.45:11 in the following translations:

NIV: “Concerning things to come, do you question me about my children, or give me orders about the work of my hands?” ESV: “Ask Me of things to come;will you command Me concerning My children and the work of My hands?’”

NET: ^“How dare you question Me about My children!How dare you tell Me what to do with the work of My own hands!”

No, PC is not prayer at all. Consider yourself rebuked. And there are many other deceptions surrounding our communion with the Most High in prayer.

Thinking that we will be heard by multiplying words over and over again is a delusion of stupidity. Jesus exposes this folly in Mt.6:7: “When you pray, do not keep on babbling like the pagans, because they think that by many words they will be heard.”

Here, the Lord Jesus rebukes the madness of our current practice of babbling in “tongues,” as if that multiplied noise actually qualifies as prayer: It is not.

In Accra, Ghana, a woman led in prayer points, saying the points in English, and then saying for 20 minutes: “O shuliO, baba ba; O shuliO baba, ba.” In New Karu, Abuja, the GO, Man of God, directed the prayer points understandably, followed by 30 minutes of: “Sum rabosk; sum rabbosk.” In Makurdi, for 30 minutes the only prayer coming from one self-appointed “Prophetess” was this: “breeet; breeet; breeet.”

Such things are not prayer at all; they are a form of insanity, of spiritual madness as the Apostle Paul clearly warns in 1 Cor.14:23: “So if the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues will they not say that you have lost your minds?” Yes, they will.

Likewise, a hypocrite’s expectation will perish along with his lengthy prayers. We cannot oppress and cheat men and expect the God of heaven to hear us [Mt.23:14].

We will not be heard if we regard others with contempt [Lk.18:9] or if we hold grudges against them. Mk.11:25,26: If we do not forgive men “neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your transgressions.”

Many prayers go unanswered because the man uttering them does not love his wife.  He grants her no honor. He disregards her as God’s given helper. Her weakness as a woman is ignored and unreasonable demands are placed upon her. Rather than being cherished she is abused. It is wickedness and cancels any prayers arising from such men.

1 Pet.3:7: “You husbands in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with a weaker vessel, since she is a woman; and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.”

“So that your prayers will not be hindered:” Hindrances abound in this most holy work of prayer. All of them revolve around the hub of self – selfish desires, self-promotion, self-gain, self-comforts, self-righteousness. Self is a sickening thing.

The glory of God is a thing forgotten in the church’s mad pursuit of its own ends. Self-conceived decrees and commands dominate the words of these positively confessed “prayers.” But those are not biblical prayer at all. They are abominations.

Rather, we are to pray as Christ instructed us in Mt.6. We are to pray as Jesus Himself did in Jn.17. We are to pray as Paul did in Eph.1 and chapter 3; Phil.1; and Col.1. Do you want to know how to pray? Study these passages well, therein are Spirit inspired records of what real prayer is.

Thereby you will learn to pray in the will of God: for His interests and kingdom to advance, for the spiritual progress, growth, and maturity of your brethren. The purpose of your prayers will be for God to be glorified on earth as He is in heaven.

Your focus will become that all might abound in Christ’s love, purity, and truth that Christ’s transforming power will be effective in one and all. If we will begin to pray according to what is contained in these inspired portions of the Word of God, the entire church of Christ will be transformed. You will be as well.

Dear Listener, you can pray. Yes, you. Don’t be deceived into thinking that you require the prayers or need to pay money to some self-promoting “anointed Man of God” in order for God to hear. No. There is an open heaven above. Christ is there; He is your Advocate. Sympathy abounds from His heart for you in all your weakness. Therefore let us draw near with boldness to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need –Heb.4:16. Copyright Steve Phillips 2019

 

Jesus the Light 10 Prayer

God hates the prayers of a person who does not obey His instruction    Prov.28:9

The Lord Jesus taught us to pray “After this manner” [Mt.6:9].  His instruction about prayer include these 4 aspects: Worship (Mt.6:9), Intercession (Mt.6:10), Personal requests (Mt.6:11,13), and Confession (Mt.6:12). This is what true prayer consists of according to our Lord’s instruction.

Throughout the Scriptures, no additional elements comprising true prayer are to be found. Anything added to these and calling itself prayer is not prayer at all. Anything that is not biblical prayer must be abandoned.

Twins, now grown men, journeyed from afar to greet their ancient father. A vast estate was their portion; an inheritance bounteous and blessed awaited them from their father’s gracious hand.

The first burst through the door of his father’s abode with agitated loud demands, and shrieked with authoritative shouts, right before his father’s face:

“I decree; today I will possess my possessions! I am the head, and not the tail! I bind any contrary spirit blocking my destiny! Father! I command; I shall prosper! I confess, I will not lack! Baba, I will enter and take the inheritance by force! Father! I no go suffer; I no go beg for bread! Am I not a god! Do I not have dominion! I decree; The portion is mine! The portion is mine! The portion is mine!”

The second son drew near with full assurance to his father’s inner chamber, yet in lowliness with deep appreciation and spoke thus:

“Father, I am come today because you are great and my heart is overwhelmed with your love. O, what can I render to you for your mercies, new every morning, unworthy as I am? There is none like you and I am so blessed to even be called your son.

“I do wish to bring up one matter to you, knowing your love and concern for my other brothers and sisters, which are my concerns as well. Please, will you attend to them in their needs? My heart is heavy that they might love you as you ought to be loved and I know you will lead them to yourself: to acknowledge and walk in your ways. Father, this is my heart’s desire. May you hear and do for the sake of your great name.”

Dear Listener, I ask you, which of these sons honored his father? Which one understood his father’s heart and concerns? Which of these twins prayed? It was the second one. Which one of these twins did not pray? It was the first.

The very nature of prayer is to ask.  Mt.21:22: “All things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” The fundamental attitude in approaching the throne of God is that of an unworthy servant presenting a humble request with fear.

The child who demands from his father shows he has no proper sense of honor or respect. It reveals a heart bent upon his own self-will. It is not for the son to command and decree, but to humbly request while awaiting His father’s good pleasure.

Thus, Positive Confession is the very opposite of true prayer. It is anti-prayer. It cannot claim to legitimately be placed in the ranks of prayer at all. PC does not ask.

Rm.8:26: “We do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us.” Since we do not truly know how to pray, we need to ask for wisdom as James 1:5 commands us: “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God.”

Prayer is asking. Apart from praise, confession, and adoration, to pray is to ask. But “to pray” is never to command. We do not tell the Sovereign Lord what to do. Not even once can anything approximating the falsehood of PC be discovered in the Scriptures.

How then are we to pray? We are to ask. We are to ask according to the will of God. Jesus tells us in Jn.14:13,14: “Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.”

Yet it is in this very thing that our sinful hearts rush to gratify self. The “Name of Jesus” is eagerly attached to our every utterance with the expectation that God is now obligated to honor our words and grant our desires.

Saying, “In Jesus’ Name” has become a carnal method to get what we want, really little more than a “Christian” incantation. We imagine that God must sit up and pay attention because we’ve used the correct technique and words that He cannot ignore.

Actually, this is nothing more than sorcery. The incantations are different but the approach is not. The procedure is the same for each. (1) Present whatever you want to get, (2) say the right words, and (3) receive what has been spoken.

This is the basic sorcery of African Traditional Religion. It has nothing to do with real prayer, nor does it have anything to do with praying in the name of Jesus.

Praying in the name of Jesus is a different matter altogether.  If a person is to request something in another’s name, he must present it for that person as if the person were doing it himself. It must accurately reflect the true interests and requests of the other.

David instructed his young men to greet Nabal “in my name” -1 Sam.25:5. David then directed the youths what to request when they did [I Sam.25:6-8]. When they came  “they spoke to Nabal according to all these words in the name of David” -1 Sam.25:9.

The request they presented was according to the will of David communicated to them by his word. Their petition had the approval and authority of David to back it up.  Their request was actually David’s request and accurately represented his will. Praying in the name of Jesus is quite similar to what these young men did in the name of David.

Dear Listener, God forbid that we should come to the Father with our own interests and present them as if this is what the Lord Jesus Himself wants to do! How will such “prayer” be received by the Father? Will He not verify with His Son if, in fact, these requests represent His purpose and will?

If they are found to be falsely presented “in Jesus’ name,” they will be thrown out, and we ourselves will be found to be false witnesses of Christ before the Majesty in heaven. God and Christ both will be provoked to anger and we will reproved in shame.

We must pray what the Lord Jesus Himself wants to accomplish if we are to identify His name with the requests we bring. His Word tells us what His will and purposes are so we can pray according to His mind. We then can ask that His will be done on earth as it is in heaven while confidently attaching the name of Jesus to our request.

Prayer that is truly in His name, is that “the Father may be glorified in the Son” -Jn.14:13. Thus any genuine prayer must arise from and be motivated by His glory alone.

Glory is the manifested excellence of God’s character: the outshining of His moral perfections. Self-will does not arise from or reveal the glory of God. Whether the words “In Jesus’ Name” accompany our prayers or not does not impress the God of heaven.  Only what accords with His glory and purpose does.

How does commanding the death of enemies glorify the God of love? It does not. Destroying enemies and lusting after wealth have nothing in common with the glory of God’s truth, holiness, and love.  Glory and greed, godliness and destruction cannot co-exist.

Self-focus is not “sanctified” by uttering the words “In the Name of Jesus.” It is an abomination and vain attempt to “use” God to get what we want: and one that provokes His wrath. It is not prayer.

The Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain -Deut.5:11.

Copyright Steve Phillips 2019

 

Jesus the Light 9 Supremacy of Christ

He is before all things…so that He Himself may have first place in everything   Col.1:17,18

Gen.1:1 immediately unlocks the most profound spiritual principle governing all of life. This opening revelation simply states: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

God is before all. He is above all and transcends all. He has the prior place of greatest honor, the central place. The Lord is supreme over all and the source of everything.

In short, God is central, supreme, and first in everything. He is our first recourse, the origin of all things good, and our first consideration in all of life.

How does this relate to Christ being supreme? Because God said: “Let there be Light and there was Light.” Here God introduces us to His Son. Here He is brought forth and showcased as the co-creator and the co-source of all life and light to follow.

Yes, from eternity, Jesus, Himself uncreated, is prior to all things made. Listen well to the revelation of Christ’s supremacy as recorded in John 1:1-4: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was fully God. All things were created by Him, and apart from Him not one thing was created that has been created. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.”

And who is this Word who was with God, and is God, and created all things? It is Jesus the Light as John 1:14 reveals: “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us and we have seen His glory, glory as of the Unique One from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Jesus expresses the unseen depths of the heart and mind of the infinite, invisible God. Apart from the revelation of Christ as the Word, we would yet be in darkness, bondage, and misery. John 1:18 states: “No one has seen God at any time; the Only Son who is Himself God and in closest fellowship with the Father, He has made God known.”

Why would we seek out any other so-called revelations? Why would we add to or subtract from what He has revealed about the eternal Word contained in His written Word, the Bible? Why?

We have good authority to abide by the written Word of God alone, because Jesus, the eternal Word, said this in John 5:39: “The Scriptures testify of Me.”

Christ opened these very Scriptures to His followers in Luke 24:27-45: “Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures. He said to them, ‘All things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.’ Then He opened their minds that they might understand the Scriptures.”

Jesus the eternal Word of the Father, bears witness to the Written Word of God. And the written Word of God is our infallible testimony to Christ, the eternal Word. Do not be led astray by imitation pretended revelations whatever they may be.

The Son from all eternity is Supreme. Col.1:17: “He is before all things and in Him all things stand together.” Anything not having its origin in the Supreme One, Christ Jesus the Lord, will not stand.

All the inventions and institutions of men will crumble to dust and be consumed in the flame. He only supports what He originates. He is Supreme over all He has brought into being. He must reign unrivaled there.

Christ is there before any church was ever founded, before any apostle was chosen, before any gospel was ever preached. He is before and exalted above all Councils, Popes, Archbishops, Reformers, Missionaries, General Overseers, Pastors, and Priests.

Christ has First place in everything! What can a man or a denomination, or institution add to Him? Nothing! Rather, they compete with the Lord Jesus reigning as the Supreme One over the hearts of men. 1 Cor.8:6 declares without controversy, that we have but “one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and through whom we live.”

With this undisputable reality before us, why are we running after men; why are we identified with and strongly attached to our denominations? 1 Cor.1:10-13 rebukes this carnality: “I plead with you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to agree together to end your divisions and to be perfectly joined together in the same mind and purpose. Now I mean this, that each of you is saying, ‘I am with Paul,’ or ‘I am with Apollos,’ or ‘I am with Peter,’ or ‘I am with Christ.’ IS CHRIST DIVIDED? Paul wasn’t crucified for you, was he?”

No, Dear Listener, there is only one Savior, King, Lord, and Head; and He shares His throne with no one. 1 Cor.7:23 makes this clear: “You have been bought with a price; do not become slaves of men.” But multitudes actually are slaves of men, all the while vainly protesting that they are servants of Christ alone. How foolish!

Does not your General Overseer bow at the name of the Lord Jesus? Do not Popes, Pastors, and Priests do the same? Why then are you bowing to men rather than to Christ? Why do the words and traditions of men, their statements of faith, catechisms, and man-made decrees rule your heart rather than Jesus the Light, the eternal Word, who alone has revealed the invisible God to the world? Why?

And do you think that your denomination is the way the truth and the life? Nonsense! Why then are you serving a denomination rather than following the Lord Jesus Christ Himself who alone is the Way and the Truth and the Life? Why? Why are we doing this? No one comes to the Father except by Him!

Jesus is Supreme!

One Savior. Acts 4:12: “There is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved!”

One Shepherd. Heb.13:20: “The God of peace brought up from the dead the Great Shepherd of the sheep…Jesus our Lord.”

One Overseer. 1 Pet.2:25: “You have returned to the Overseer of your souls.”

One Head. Col.1:18: Christ is “Head of the body, the church.”

One Foundation. 1 Cor.3:11: “No one can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”

One Priest. Heb.10:19,21: “We have confidence to enter the Holy Place by the blood of Jesus since we have a great Priest over the house of God.” 1 Tim.2:5: “For there is one God and one mediator between God and man, the Man Christ Jesus.”

One Bridegroom. 2 Cor.11:2: The church has been betrothed “to one Husband, so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin.”

One Lord. 1 Cor.8:6: “There is one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him.”

One Vine. Jn.15:5: “I am the Vine and you are the branches. He who abides in Me and I in him bears much fruit. For apart from Me, you can do nothing.”

One Captain. Heb.12:2: “Fixing our eyes upon Jesus, the Captain and Perfecter of faith.”

Jesus is Supreme! One Savior, One Shepherd, One Overseer, One Head, One Foundation, One Priest, One Bridegroom, One Lord, One Vine, One Captain. JESUS IS SUPREME!!

Copyright Steve Phillips 2019

 

 

 

Jesus the Light  8  Behold the Lamb 

Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world    John 1:29

In the beginning God created no religion.

Only the pure communion of spirit to Spirit prevailed with all the faculties of soul and body harnessed to that end. There were no rituals, ceremonies, shrines, or altars.

The revolt of self-will changed all. Fig leaves were put on instead of garments of light, shame cancelled purity, fear replaced devotion, while hiding overtook communion.

Sin’s terrible revolt produced terrible results. Adam’s eruption of lawlessness alienated his soul, darkened the understanding, and corrupted his entire inner being. Desperate substitutes were devised to amend for wayward choices.

Fig leaves, plucked from their living source, were crafted to cover shameful exposure in sin’s wake. Makeshift garments were hastily sewn from now withering and soon decaying sources.

And this is the legacy of Eden’s first religious act. Man-devised solutions to sin have no life, do not endure, address the externals alone, and are ultimately rejected by God altogether. This is the essence of Man’s Religion that has come down to us up to today.

The Lord, however, brings a solution from above; only the death of a substitute can cover the stain, corruption, and guilt of sin. And this He alone provides; it is not a product of human invention.

The lamb must be slain to provide a suitable covering for lawless deeds. Only then can what is lost be restored, corruption covered, guilt erased, and life obtained.

Heb.9:22: “Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sin” resounds, echoing through the corridors of the ages. And why? Because the death of separation begins the instant the heart rises in lawlessness: a death that cannot be remedied by human methods.

We must approach God in the manner He approached us. And He sacrificed the lamb to provide covering for man’s sin. This is witnessed to by the acceptable slain lamb of righteous Abel, Noah, and of all the faithful thereafter.

Let us see further what Abraham learned about the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. He was tested by God to offer up his son as a sacrifice to the Lord. As Abraham and Isaac walked along, his son inquired where the sacrifice was. Gen.22:8: “Abraham said, ‘God will provide for Himself that lamb for the burnt offering.’”

In Gen.22:11-13, as he was about to slay his son, “the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, ‘Abraham, Abraham!  Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son from Me.’

“Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horn; and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son.”

Dear Listener, the ram was slain in the place of the son. The lamb died instead of the person, so that the man might be set free from the judgment coming upon him.

The death of the lamb was accepted as a substitute in the place of the condemned. Isaac would never face judgment again: the lamb had taken his place.

Moses shows us an additional truth about the sacrifice that the Lord receives. Judgment was upon the whole land of Egypt for its wickedness. But God provided a solution to escape His wrath.

Ex.12:3-13: “They are each one to take a lamb for themselves. Then the whole assembly of the congregation is to kill it at twilight. Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the house.

“And when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.”

Here, the blood of the sacrifice is what saved them from destruction and judgment.  Dear Listener, it is when the Lord sees the blood applied to where you live, to your very heart, that you will be saved from coming wrath.

All of these things were instructing us about the sacrifice that God accepts. They prepared the way for the Lord’s final sacrifice, the one whose sacrifice forgives sins once and for all. The Prophet Isaiah spoke in great detail about this final sacrifice. Isa.52:13 – 53:12:

“Behold, My Servant shall deal prudently; He shall be exalted and be very high. Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

“He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of Suffering and acquainted with grief.  Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we considered Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.

“But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment for our peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray. Each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

“He was led as a lamb to the slaughter. For He was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgressions of My people He was punished.

“Yet it pleased the Lord to crush Him and cause Him to suffer, for He shall bear their iniquities. He poured out His soul unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors. For He bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.”

This Word of God about His Servant shows us that it was the purpose of God Himself to make Him a sacrifice for our sins. This Servant was pierced for our iniquities. He was like a lamb sacrificed to bear the sins of others.

Who was this Servant? How could He become a sacrifice to forgive sins? Listen to the Word of the Lord in John 1:29. “The next day John saw Jesus coming to him and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!’” Jesus is the Lamb of God who became the final sacrifice to take away our sins.

He was the fulfillment of all that had been prophesied about the coming sacrifice who would bear the punishment for man’s sins.

Dear Listener, Man-devised solutions to sin have no life, do not endure, address the externals alone, and are ultimately rejected by God altogether. Only through the blood of the Lamb can what is lost be restored, corruption covered, guilt erased, and life obtained.

You are condemned to death, but the death of the Lamb was accepted as your substitute. The wrath of God is about to break upon your head, but if the blood of Jesus is found applied to your heart by faith, you will never come into judgment.

And why? Because Jesus was wounded for your transgressions. He suffered for your iniquities. He bore your sin in His own body on the cross. He alone has made acceptable intercession for us transgressors.

The blood of Jesus washes clean from all the stain, guilt, and corruption of sin. There is no other remedy, no other hope. Pardon, cleansing, and life eternal is to be found there. Dear Listener, have you come to Jesus? Have you received Him?

Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world –John 1:29

Copyright Steve Phillips 2019

Jesus the Light   7  Essence of Kingdom

In the kingdom of heaven are to be discovered two key elements. First, there is a King, the God of heaven.  Second, God, the King, has subjects, His obedient believers.

This, in essence, is what comprises the kingdom of heaven – a King and His subjects. This King of glory performs two essential functions: He sends forth His law that governs His kingdom. Then, He protects His people from all of their and His enemies. Our part is simply to honor our King by performing His will according to His Word.

The written Word of God therefore replaces dependence upon Oral Tradition. Hierarchy is cast out thereby, because the lowliest and highest alike within God’s kingdom are placed on the same level as equal subjects. The Word of God judges both. So each person for himself must judge the content of that message and obey the King.

The apostle Paul commands that such discernment be practiced by each and every Christian. 1 Cor.10:15: “I speak as to wise men, you judge what I say.” Again we are “to examine everything carefully and hold fast to what is good” – 1 Thess.5:21. Even in the gathering of the church collectively this is to be done as we learn from 1 Cor.14:29: “Two or three prophets should speak and the others should judge/evaluate what is said.”

As well, independence, self-will, and unholy tolerance of diversity are abolished by the coming of the kingdom of God. None are free to serve Sin, Self, or Superiors: man-made rulers in the church. All are rather set free to simply serve the King in harmony with other fellow servants.

Customs in this kingdom of heaven are different than those encountered among men. Speech is governed by a different spirit and employed unto another end than that of earth. Dress is simple and modest, free from excessive cost or improper exposure.

Treasures and self-indulgence are despised while appetites do not impel their actions. Flattery, coercion, or threats of pain fail to move them to stray from their course. Neither bribery nor sanctions divert their way. Titles, promotion, Prosperity, prominence, and pride are things despised in their eyes.

Aliens they are, and “strangers” describes them well. Expatriates residing on earth briefly until returning to their home land are what they are. For a season they reside in the foreign environment of this world, though conducting themselves as cultures apart.

These are the ones whose “citizenship is in heaven” -Phil.3:20. Born and bred from above, “partakers of a heavenly calling” -Heb.3:1, they are subjects of the kingdom of God, with a new King and His written Law and with completely transformed practices.

God determines both what His kingdom is and those dwelling in it. The Word of the King contained in the Scriptures defines the nature and boundaries of acceptable behavior within the heavenly society.

Heaven’s kingdom replaces gods with the Lord of Glory. The Majesty on High takes the place of earthly rulers. The written Word of the King cancels oral traditions. Majority rule or independent self-will are replaced by the Word of God and the norms of godly submission therein.

God’s kingdom differs significantly from cultures of earth and denominational “kingdoms.” In both the kingdoms of earth and in denominational kingdoms, individual freedom is defined and governed by the elite. The individual is free to do only what has been determined by rulers, which is not freedom at all.

On the other hand, the autonomous self-willed individual has no freedom to interact in his society as he has become an outlaw from it. But Self-will and revolt are not components of God’s kingdom.

Within the kingdom of heaven there is government without tyranny because Christ is our King. There is also liberty without lawlessness because Christ has set us free to serve Him and one another, not to serve Sin, Self, or Superiors: man-made rulers in the church.

In Christ’s kingdom, the society and individuals within it both have their respective places without infringing upon the realm of the other. The society speaks to the individual and the individual can speak to the society.

Individuals can be required to conform to the cultural ideal of the kingdom without it becoming oppressive by such insistence. By definition, the individual within the kingdom of God is a subject of the King and therefore accountable to obey the Word of God which is the heavenly ideal of that kingdom.

On the other hand, the society itself can be called upon by even a single individual to amend its ways and conform to the law of the King, His Word. And the individual can do so without becoming a rebellious outlaw within that kingdom.

Both the society and the individual are subject to the King and His Word which governs both. Waywardness on the part of either is to be resolved by recourse to the Scriptures.  Neither the present state of the society nor the novelty of the individual are to be given heed to.

Man-made Traditions may have crept into the practices of the majority within the kingdom of heaven. These must be corrected by returning to the Word of the King. An individual may have gone astray in his behavior. He must be called to account by his fellow servants to repent and continue in the godly standards of Jesus’ kingdom.

Historically, serious problems have always arisen when the ideal of the kingdom of heaven, that is, the Word of God, is no longer the basis of appeal to address departure.

Then, either the lawless cry of Jeroboam, “To your tents, O Israel,” prevails or the oppressive traditions of the Pharisees is enforced, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders?”

In neither case are the society nor the individual preserved. Both perish when the Word of the King no longer is the reference point.

Dear Listener, if you are a genuine Christian, you no longer belong to yourself. You are joined now to your King, Jesus, and to all others who likewise are true members of His kingdom. 1 Cor.6:19,20 makes this very clear: “Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you were bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

We are now slaves of God and of righteousness in that glorious kingdom of heaven. Rm.6:16-18: “Do you not know that you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that pattern of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.”

No, in this kingdom of light and life, you are not free to serve Self. Gal.5:1,13: “It was for freedom that Christ set us free; do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity to indulge your flesh, rather, serve one another humbly in love.”

Neither are we free to serve Sin. Jn.8:34-36: “Jesus answered them, ‘I tell you the truth, everyone who practices sin is the slave of sin. Therefore, if the Son makes you free, you will be really free.’”

Neither are we free to serve Superiors: man-made religious rulers. “You have been bought with a price; do not become slaves of men” – 1 Cor.7:23.

Welcome to the Kingdom of Heaven.

Copyright Steve Phillips 2019

 

Jesus the Light 1  One Thing is Needful

One thing is needful   Luke 10:42

Devotion to Christ has been cast into the dust bin of our religion. Success, prosperity, and fulfillment are the carnal objects we now seek.

We are no different than the church of Laodicea who thought themselves to be rich, increased in goods, with need of nothing. It sickens Christ still.

In our fake religion we are unlike our God.  We neither know Him nor are particularly concerned to do so. Like Martha, many other things occupy us replacing communion with Him.

The self-occupied Marthas of the world presume to command the Lord and expect Him to comply.  “She came up to Him and said, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone?  Then tell her to help me’” -Lk.10:40.

Martha imagines that her Lord is just like she is, but He is not.  He is unknown by her.  His heart remained hidden to her hurried footstep.  “Distracted with much service” and “worried and bothered about so many things” -Lk.10:41 was the Lord’s description of her.

The coming day of Judgment will reveal many things done poorly.  For some, it will show a few things done well. Fewer still will have a testimony of having done the one necessary thing in all of life. “One thing is necessary” -Lk.10:42.

Here is a definitive statement of what is essential.  This must be done; all else is optional and, at best, secondary.

We do not live this way.  Devotion to Christ is not the compelling passion of our souls, yet it is the only necessary thing.  Nothing else truly matters.

Yet we have not chosen this.  We have run after foolish things which shall be taken away from us.

But “Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her” -Lk.10:42. It will abide with her throughout everlasting day.

Devotion to Christ is the only portion that a mortal soul will not have taken from him when he leaves this earth.  It is eternal life. Knowing the only true God is necessary; nothing else in all of life falls into this category.

The categories are but two; necessary and unnecessary.  Devotion to the Lord Jesus is all one will find in the first category.  Everything else in life will be found in the second.

This is a shattering reality to any honest heart.  To this busy and superficial generation, it will only significantly trouble them when standing naked before the God they have not known.

Devotion to the Lord Jesus cannot begin then.  Eternal life, knowing God, can only have its origin here on earth.  It is the exclusively necessary thing now in this life.

All else is vanity. If nothing essential and hence truly worthwhile is discovered in the vast array of your life’s activities, all is loss. The tragedy of an irrelevant and wasted existence will overwhelm you in a single horrifying instant. In a blinding flash of clarity you will realize that one thing has been necessary all along.

But regret then will not save us. Devotion to the Lord Jesus is a matter for the moment, and every moment thereafter, here upon earth.

Dear listeners, you are worried and bothered about many things.  They will be taken from you.  They have no lasting value.  They can neither rescue you at the Judgment nor satisfy you in the present.  Only one thing is necessary.

Disturbed as we may be by this, few of us will do anything about it.

There are two main reasons for our lack of devotion to the Lord Jesus. First, we do not believe that He is worthy.  Second, we do not believe that we are as evil as we are.  These are the roots of the matter.

Devotion is not by force, it is voluntary. No one can compel another to be devoted. It is a matter of the heart. Participation in habitual religious gatherings does not qualify as devotion to Christ.

The real question is this: How much is He worth?  This is the fundamental question when assessing devotion.  Of what value is the Lord Jesus to us?

This is the secret and the mystery of devotion. The Lord Jesus is worth all. Nothing is to be withheld from Him; nothing is to remain clutched to the bosom of self.

Who is the Lord Jesus Christ to you? Of what value is He? Is He worthy of a total and complete devotion in an abandonment of self?

One thing is necessary.  Our devotion is sickly because our thoughts of the Lord are lowly while our esteem for self is highly inflated.  We love little because we have been forgiven little.

Involvement in your religion may actually blind you to your true need as it did to this leader. Jesus asked him, “Which of them will love him more?  Simon answered and said, ‘I suppose the one whom he forgave more.’  And Jesus said to him, ‘You have judged correctly…he who is forgiven little, loves little’” -Lk.7:42,43,47.

The estimation of our own guilt determines our response to the Lord Jesus. Simon the religious ruler was actually no better off than the harlot, except in his own deluded pride. What is needed is a clear perception of the nature and reality of our own sinfulness.

The woman wept in acute bitterness over her wretchedness. The Pharisee reclined with Jesus thinking to himself that all was well with him.  She was painfully conscious of her condition; he remained in delusion and darkness. The woman judged herself, the Pharisee judged her and the Lord Jesus both, but not himself.

He imagined that he needed nothing. The truth is that he was a hypocritical son of hell [Mt.23:15]. Actually, he was a blind fool full of self-indulgence [Mt.23:17, 25].  If he would see himself clearly he would know that he was a whitewashed tomb full of all uncleanness and soon to be damned [Mt.23:27, 33].

But he did not think of himself in this manner. He therefore did not weep. He did not kiss the feet of the Lord Jesus. Neither was he forgiven; neither did he love.

He thought much of himself and little of the Lord. He was devoted to his religion and his place therein, but he was not devoted to Christ.

Tearless saints lack devotion to the Lord Jesus. When have you last wept over your sinfulness in the corrupt depths of your inner self?  Do you kiss His feet as the sinner you are, or recline at His head in deceived acceptability? Or worse yet, do you command the Lord as if He were your small errand boy?

Judas the betrayer kissed the Lord, but not His feet. He later felt remorse, but shed no tear. He had a form of godliness, but denied the power thereof.  Judas appeared outwardly as a disciple, but he was not.  “Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish from the way” -Ps.2:12.

Tears and kisses are not optional.  One abides a Simon, or worse yet, a Judas, in their absence.  There is no forgiveness apart from them.  You will love but little, if at all.

Dear listener, how much is the Lord Jesus worth to you? What occupies the inner workings of your heart? Are you devoted to the one necessary thing in life?

It is left for you to decide; no one can do that for you.

“One thing is needful” – Lk.10:42.

 

Copyright 2019 Steve Phillips

 

 

Jesus the Light  6  Entering the Kingdom  2

Strive to enter by the Narrow Gate…for the gate is small and the Way is difficult That leads to Life, and there are few who find it –Lk.13:24: Mt.7:14

Dear Listener, have you entered the kingdom of Christ? How far have you come since last week’s message? What are you waiting for?

Many are still vainly confident in their participation in religious activities and that ceaseless round of meetings and ceremonies. But hearing the Word of God without doing it disqualifies all hypocrites from admission into that kingdom. James 1:22: “Prove yourselves doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”

Unless you “are converted and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven!” –Mt.18:3. Yes, you will never enter because your pride will cast you into “the condemnation of the devil” –1 Tim.3:6.

The seductiveness of riches and the desire for other things “choke the Word so it produces nothing” –Mt.13:22. You cannot have one foot in the kingdom of wealth and the other in the kingdom of Christ. Any who suppose that “godliness is a means to financial gain are corrupted in their minds and destitute of the truth” -1 Tim.6:5.

Desiring riches has already cast you “into a trap and many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction” – 1 Tim.6:9. Longing after money actually turns a person into an idolater according to Ephesians 5:5: “No greedy person who is an idolater has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ.”

Holding malice, bitterness, anger, grudge, and hatred in the heart will keep you out of the kingdom of Christ. Mt.6:15: “If you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your sins.” Lying, stealing, giving and taking bribes, and sexual immorality including pornography all show that you have not entered the kingdom of heaven.

Jn.3:3,5: “I tell you the solemn truth, unless a person is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God…he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”

Dear Listener, you need a new life. You need a totally different kind of life. You are not sufficient in yourself to enter that kingdom. The life that comes from Jesus Christ the King of this kingdom is fresh and clean, powerful and transforming. It is His very life as risen from the dead that He imparts to any and all who come to Him in humility, confession, and repentance.

“God, be merciful to me, a sinner” is the prayer He delights to hear. “Lord, I am unclean, unworthy, and powerless to do Your will; Help me, my God” brings a swift reply when uttered in sincerity and truth.

This is the glad gospel of Rm.5:6-10: “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. God demonstrates His own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, how much more, since we have been reconciled, will we be saved by His life!”

Abandon your own failing efforts to live a righteous life. God has worked in Christ in our behalf while we were still sinners, helpless, and enemies. Christ can do in you what you can never do in yourself.

This is the secret of entrance into His kingdom; receive Christ’s resurrection life that He may dwell IN you by His Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God imparts new life, new resolve, new power, new values, new character, new desires within the heart of every humbled person who will come to Christ, trusting and loving Him alone.

Here is a great mystery in Rm.14:17: “The kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.” The kingdom of God does not consist in external regulations, codes, systems, creeds, a list of do’s and don’ts, traditions, and religious ceremonies. No! Away with them! They are not Christ and in fact are the very things that are keeping you in bondage.

Listen to the Word of God in Col.2:23: “Such regulations have the appearance of wisdom with their self-imposed worship and false humility and severe treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.”

We rather need to enter the kingdom: and that kingdom is internal, where Christ reigns over our hearts that we have submitted to Him. He dwells there, is Lord there, and governs the willing soul in His way of life and peace.

Righteousness, peace, and joy are internal spiritual realities imparted to Jesus’ subjects in His kingdom of life and light. We are not to look for evidence of His kingdom in outward things: in prosperity, success, promotion, and possessions. No! These things are no evidence of being a partaker of His kingdom.

Jesus said clearly in Lk.17:20,21: “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ Or, ‘There!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”

Houses and lands, silver and gold, fine clothes and comfortable cars are not WITHIN you. They have nothing to do with Jesus’ kingdom. His kingdom is within the heart of all who are born from above with the very life of Christ resident inside them. They alone are in this kingdom.

Why is it called a kingdom? because Jesus is a mighty King and He is honored and served by His loyal subjects. The King comes to reign in the heart of each true believer. And that common life that is shared individually by all, also brings every real Christian into loving devotion and service to one another as well.

And that is a fellowship not dependent upon denominations, cathedrals, and ceremonies. It is spiritually instinctive as a fellowship of love springing up as a living fountain, because Christ Himself abides in His own people in a living union with them.

No one instructed the 3,000 believers to “devote themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and prayers” –Acts 2:42. They did not pass through a catechism before they shared with everyone who had need, and by common consent shared their food with glad and humble hearts. No one needed to force them to praise God and have favor with all the people as we are told in Acts 2:44-47.

They did these things immediately, freely, joyously, and self-sacrificially. And how did this happen? What was their secret? No secret. They had the life of Christ by the Holy Spirit of God.

Acts 2:38,39: “You will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and your children, and for all who are far away, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.” And how did that come about? They simply accepted the message. They turned from Self to God. They abandoned sin for Christ.

And they became born again and entered the kingdom. The old passed away and all things become new. They were born with an entirely different life and from then on 2 Cor.5:14,15 says: “the love of Christ controls us. And He died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died and rose again for them.”

Dear Listener, are you in that kingdom? Have you received His life? Is the Holy Spirit of God producing in you purity and peace, joy and love? Why don’t you come now?

Col.3:1-4: “If you have been raised with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, WHO IS YOUR LIFE, appears, then you also will be revealed in glory with Him.” May the Lord help us all to do so.

Copyright Steve Phillips 2019

Jesus the Light 3    Stumbling Block of the Cross

A Stone of Stumbling and a Rock of Offense   1 Pet.2:8

Man, by nature, hates the cross. Interwoven into every fiber of his being is the continuous thread of self-preservation. This is what occupies his waking existence from the cradle to the grave.

And with this Ephesians 5:29 agrees: “No one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it.”  We seek the ease of the soft, the simple, and the sweatless.

So ingrained is this notion of Self having first place, that any suggestion of suffering or death meets with immediate and instinctive reproof. We will spare Self at all costs; and Self, to survive, will put on a thousand masks.

It is unimaginable to the natural mind that a cross could ever be the will of God for anyone. Yet it is; it was for Jesus Himself, though Peter could not conceive that it could ever be so. He even reproved the Lord for such a “misguided” concept.

But Jesus rebuked him and all who hold such a deceived idea. Mk.8:33: “He rebuked Peter, and said, ‘Get behind me, Satan; for you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but the things of man.’”

The conclusion is obvious: Avoidance of the cross is at the prompting of the devil. God’s way is to put Self to death along with the flesh and all that we are by nature. It is the way of man, in concert with the evil one, to save, preserve, and rescue ourselves.

It is thus that the stumbling block is encountered. Hatred of Self and love of Self cannot co-exist. Inbred in each is the destruction of the other. No treaty of toleration can be drafted between the two. The cross deals death blows to the self-centered of every generation.

You rather must hate Self as your worst enemy in the spiritual life. You must see it as that which is condemned by God Himself as being fit only for a cross. A follower of Christ must reject his own opinion, perspective, and inclination in the strongest possible way. Only then can Christ’s Word be followed.

Our own self-conceived agenda, our own natural desires for pleasure, prosperity, power, possessions, and pride are what must be crucified. Truly, for a disciple, there is nothing else to boast in, “except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” -Gal.6:14.

And Jesus declares that there are no other types of genuine Christians. Lk.14:27: “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.”

Crosses were reserved for the worst of humanity’s criminals. By the means of a cross, they thus expired: unpitied, rejected, scorned, hated, and tortured. All that they were in themselves came to an abrupt and violent end; the cross put them to death.

We dislike this immensely. We would rather be spared this treatment at the hands of men and of God. But avoidance of the cross will not make us disciples.

The words of Jesus are painfully clear in Mk.8:34,35: “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s shall save it.”

This is the stumbling block of the cross. We wish to spare our lives; the Lord desires to crucify them. We want to preserve ourselves; the Lord says we must deny ourselves. We esteem ourselves highly; God declares that Self is nothing more than condemned criminal activity.

Self is always opposed to the cross and the cross is ever the death of Self. The conclusion of 2 Cor.5:15 is this: “That One died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, that they who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.” And it is the cross that executes Self with its 1,001 branches of self-confident reliance.

The stumbling block is Christ and Him crucified. Strange, isn’t it, that Christ would be a stumbling block to those laying claim to His Name?  Yet He is.

This generation thinks it does not need Him. We have chosen instead a vast array of foolish substitutes. The gospel, the “power of God unto salvation” -Rm.1:16, has nicely been set aside by our fleshly alternatives.

Reliance upon Self, in any degree, is a corrupt, powerless, and impoverished slavery. Adding religious activities to it only worsens our condition.

Will clinging to a shadow in the presence of the reality commend you to God [Col.2:17]? Or what of careful observance of religious festivals, dietary rules, and church meetings “in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men” -Col.2:16-22?

The answer is plain from Col.2:23: “These are matters which have the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and false humility, and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.”

The flesh cannot conquer the flesh. It cannot improve itself one bit, for Rm.7:18 says, “in me, that is, in my flesh, dwells no good thing” -Rm.7:18.

These are sobering realities. Some of the strongest language in the Scriptures is reserved for those placing confidence in the flesh: words like “accursed” -Gal.1:8,9, “false brethren” -Gal.2:4, “fools” and “bewitched” -Gal.3:1, “worthless” -Gal.4:9, and “slavery” -Gal.5:1.

Those not denying Self “have been severed from Christ” -Gal.5:4. These have “fallen from grace” -Gal.5:4, and discover to their everlasting ruin that “Christ will be of no benefit to them” -Gal.5:2.

If you have Christ, what need do you have of self-effort? This thing of salvation is no cooperative endeavor; it is not, “Just do your best and God will make up the rest.”

Gal.2:21: “I do not reject/nullify/frustrate the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain/needlessly.”

But the Lord Jesus has not died in vain. The fact of His crucifixion settles the question of right standing with God once and forever.

All self-effort through religious observance is what sets aside the cross as meaningless. And it is the cross that sets aside, rather, puts to death under the severest judgment, all that man is in himself.

Of what use are your codes and rules, promises and formulas, steps and systems, or ceremonies and routines, catechisms and traditions when you are helpless and corrupt criminals fit only for crucifixion?

How shall an external token act of religious devotion such as fasting or tithing, or night vigils, do one thing to effect the needed radical transformation of an unclean heart? One may boast in these devoted acts with a fair degree of outward show, all the while the heart is full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.

We have stumbled over Christ and Him crucified. The cross is a reproach unto us, but we think there is little reproachable in ourselves. Self is exalted, Christ is degraded, while we esteem ourselves and dishonor the Lord Jesus.

Rm.9:32,33 says we have “stumbled over the stumbling stone, just as it is written, ‘Behold, I lay in Zion a Stone of stumbling and a Rock of offense, and he who believes in Him will not be disappointed.’” But he who relies upon Self will not only be disappointed, but he shall be scattered like dust [Mt.21:44]. And blessed is he who does not stumble over Me – Mt.11:6.

Copyright Steve Phillips 2019