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Sin (Part 2) – What is Sin?

January 8, 2010 by EVSTEVE

I am thinking (again) this morning about sin and…

Why don’t we hear more preaching about sin?

Well, as I look back over my blog ‘hits’, I think I have answered my own question.  You see, my blog hits went from 70 down to 2 yesterday for the subject of sin.  I think I am onto something here.  I don’t think sin is a very popular subject.  Perhaps it is no longer ‘politically correct’ to tell people they are sinners deserving of Hell and to repent of their evil ways (he said sarcastically).  I mean who has the right to do that anyway?  Surely I have not reached perfection and I have no right highlighting other people’s sin.  Who has the right to preach this message except Jesus himself.  And there is the point, would the genuinely anoited preacher who preaches the uncompomised Word of God in power please stand up?  Could 2 Tim 4:3-4 be coming true before our very eyes?.

“For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.  They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.”

So, getting back to the subject, what is sin?
For a while there I used to define sin as something that hurts you and/or hurts someone else. But, although this is a reasonable definition, it has holes.  A better definition is that…

Sin is anything that goes against the Word of God

The Word of God being defined as God’s written Word (the Bible) but also the Word of God that directly speaks to us.  These are called the Logos (written Word) and the Rhema (spoken Word – God directly speaking to us).  So, to put it simply…

If God says ‘don’t do it’, ‘DON’T DO IT!”

There is no discussion or debate.  God and I aren’t equal debators.  My wisdom is nothing compared to God’s wisdom.  It is not necessary for me to have full understanding of ‘why’ before I obey Eg: “you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” [Gen 2:17] .  The Word of God commands my full attention and obedience so that…

Whatever God says, goes!

Further Examples:
If I go out and steal my neighbour’s whipper snipper and punch him in the nose when he tries to stop me I am guilty of a number of sins as defined in the written Word of God.

Also, if God is speaking to me about going to visit my neighbour to bless him and I continually and deliberately ignore Him then I am guilty of the sin of disobedience for not obeying the spoken Word of God that is in my heart.

BOTH are disobedience against the Word of God

Now the former appears a more severe sin than the later but who can judge?  Perhaps the later has more severe eternal consequences.

Who is your Master?

Now here is a very important question.  Let’s look at some Words of Jesus.  Jesus, speaking to the ‘Jews who believed’ and the Pharisees, replied,

“I tell you the truth, 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]

Free from what?  Sinning ?  No!  We are not yet perfect.  Then, free from what?

Free from the power of sin!

For the true, born again believer sin no longer has a hold on them/us.

Sin is no longer our master!

Have a listen to these verses from Romans 6:5-14:

5 If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with,  that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7 because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.
8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.
11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13 Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. 14 For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.

The truth is, IF we are truly born again

we have a new Master

who has conquered sin and conquered death

JESUS!

and as disciples of Jesus we are to fully obey Him.

Jesus said in John 15:14:

“You are my friends IF you do what I command”

We cling onto Jesus with all of our strength knowing that we…

9 are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, IF the Spirit of God lives in you. And IF anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. 10 But IF Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. 11 And IF the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.
12 Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation — but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. 13 For IF you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but IF by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, 14 because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. [Rom 8:9-14]

Prayer:
Father, forgive me for not obeying you fully.  Forgive me for not making you my Master fully.  You are more important to me than any sin in my life.  I believe your Word that sin no longer has a hold on my life.  Forgive me of my sin, I don’t want to do that again.  May your power fully manifest in my life as I fully submit to you.  In Jesus name, Amen.

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Sin (Part 1) – Our Desperate Need of a Saviour

January 7, 2010 by EVSTEVE

We don’t hear a lot of preaching about sin these days and yet…

It is because of OUR sin that Jesus died on that cross

I  believe, we need to hear a lot more preaching about sin so that we hear a lot more preaching about the God’s solution to sin.

It is because of OUR sin that we needed a Saviour

You see, having an understanding of the seriousness and foulness of our sin is basic and essential to having an understanding of the graciousness of the cross and a true and correct understanding of salvation.  Sin and God’s solution to sin go together.

It is because of OUR sin that we have the cross

The offensiveness of the cross makes no sense unless we understand the offensiveness of our sin.

The horror and offense of the cross highlights…

How extremely foul and offensive OUR sin is in the sight of a Holy God

God hates sin and his anger and wrath are poured out against those who sin.

My friend…

We are in desperate need of a Saviour

The penalty for OUR sin is death but the good news is, by the grace of God…

Jesus bore the penalty for OUR sin on that cross!

Now I’m not sure why we don’t hear a lot more preaching about sin.   Maybe telling people they are sinners is a little offensive nowadays and we don’t want to offend anyone do we? (he said sarcastically)  But…

How is anyone going to understand the cross if they don’t understand the foulness and offense of their sin?

The truth be known…

The message of the gospel has always been offensive

It is offensive to those who don’t want to hear it (ie: those who are perishing) but very, very sweet to those who accept it.

The Bible tells us…

All of us are guilty of sin

“all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” [Rom 3:23]

and all of us need to come humbly towards our gracious Heavenly Father in…

REPENTANCE

Turning away from the stench of sin and turning towards a Holy and Righteous God.

In the light of a Holy God we see the stench and the wickedness of our sin

In the light of a Holy God we see our desperate need for the saviour

In the light of a Holy God we understand the truth of the cross

In the light of a Holy God we repent and turn away from our sin and turn towards Him

In the light of a Holy God we give our life to the One who saved us from the penalty of our sins


Thank you Jesus!

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‘To All the Broken People’ in 2010

January 2, 2010 by EVSTEVE

To all the broken people,
To the boy or girl who has been abused or neglected,
To the boy that never became a man,
To the girl that never became a woman,

There is hope and there is healing

You don’t have to continue in your self destructive ways.  Jesus came to give you LIFE!  Ubuntant life!

How many times have you heard that and felt “Where is this ubundant life?  I cannot find this ubundant life in my torment and isolation”  The truth is God is not very far away from any of us but our minds and our souls have instigated coping mechanisms that get in the way of God’s healing waters. There is an answer,

We have to enter the ‘arena of healing’

Most people sit in the stands and never enter into the arena.  Why?  Some find an unhealthy and destructive comfort in staying the same.  Others believe the lie that things cannot change in their lives. Others ignore God’s promptings because of the effort involved in change.

I am here to tell you that Jesus came to heal the brokenhearted and to set the captives free BUT you(and me) we need to get out of the stands and enter into the ‘arena of healing’ where Jesus awaits us to give us victory for the healing of our souls.

We have to place ourselves in the battlefield and not in the stands

This requires effort and determination and courage on our part but Jesus is there on the battlefield to break those bondages and to bring those healing waters of ubundant life.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, give me the courage to get out of the stand and into the arena of healing in this New Year.  Lord I don’t want to waste another year.   I am going to grab onto this ubundant life with all of my heart and all of my strength.  Lord, I invite you to come into my life.  Father, deliver me and help me to overcome all that hinders me entering into all the fullness of your presence, the fullness of your joy and the fullness of your peace in Jesus Name, Amen

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Drinking from the Water of Life

December 29, 2009 by EVSTEVE

This morning I want to share a number of verses about the Water of Life.  The first is from the prophet Ezekiel in chapter 47.  I can’t help/stop thinking of the similarities between these verses and ‘Tide is Rising’ Word for our church – see previous blog.

Ezekiel 47:1-12
47:1 The man brought me back to the entrance of the temple, and I saw water coming out from under the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was coming down from under the south side of the temple, south of the altar. 2 He then brought me out through the north gate and led me around the outside to the outer gate facing east, and the water was flowing from the south side.  3 As the man went eastward with a measuring line in his hand, he measured off a thousand cubits  and then

“led me through water that was ankle-deep”

4 He measured off another thousand cubits and

“led me through water that was knee-deep”

He measured off another thousand and

“led me through water that was up to the waist”

5 He measured off another thousand, but now it was a river that I could not cross, because

“the water had risen and was deep enough to swim in”

— a river that no one could cross. 6 He asked me, “Son of man, do you see this?” Then he led me back to the bank of the river. 7 When I arrived there, I saw a great number of trees on each side of the river. 8 He said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah,  where it enters the Sea.  When it empties into the Sea,  the water there becomes fresh. 9 Swarms of living creatures will live wherever the river flows. There will be large numbers of fish, because this water flows there and makes the salt water fresh; so where the river flows everything will live. 10 Fishermen will stand along the shore; from En Gedi to En Eglaim there will be places for spreading nets. The fish will be of many kinds — like the fish of the Great Sea.   11 But the swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they will be left for salt.

“12 Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing.”

And now to the revelation of John…

Rev 22:1-2
“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations”

Here are some questions and answers that come to mind from these verses…

Question: Why won’t their leaves wither and their fruit fail?  Answer: Because the water of the sanctuary flows to them.

Question: What is the sanctuary?  Answer: In Rev 22 we see that the sanctuary is the very throne of God and of the Lamb.

Question: What is the water?  Answer: The water is the Holy Spirit.

Question: How often do the trees bear fruit?  Answer: Every month the trees naturally bear fruit.  Therefore, relating this back to us, we are to consistantly and continually bear fruit, not out of a sense of duty – this would be impossible, but fruit will be a natural (supernatural) outflow of our lives connected to the Water of Life.

Question: What is fruit?  Answer: Fruit isn’t just being nice. In John 15:16 Jesus said “I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit — fruit that will last”.  So we are to go and bear eternal fruit!  As we are connected to the Father through the Son empowered by His Holy Spirit in a life of faith and trust we will be directed to acts of love and service and good works that have eternal significance and consequences – Kingdom fruit!

Question: What is this about the “leaves being healing for the nations”?  Answer: Most importantly, we have the “words of eternal life”.  The message of healing and restoration through Jesus for the nations.  We need to bring this message to the nations.  Significantly as well, a (super)natural by-product of the presence of Kingdom Believers in a community (or nation) brings with it healing and blessing and provision and protection.

Other Verses about the Water of Life

Jer 17:7-8
7 “But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him.  8 He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.  It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green.  It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit. ”

Rev 21:6
6 He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life.

Rev 22:17
17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.

John 4:7-14
7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?”  8(His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)
9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans. )
10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”
11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?”
13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

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The Tide is Rising!

December 20, 2009 by EVSTEVE

I believe it was about a year and a half to two years ago our church had this prophecy spoken over it –

“The Tide is Rising”

A number of us have kept this in our hearts and our prayers.

I believe this prophecy is to do with the rising up of the Holy Spirit within our midst.  As we honour and submit to the Holy Spirit within our lives and within our church He (ie: the Holy Spirit) is going to gloriously rise.

So, I am asking you and asking me this morning, as the Holy Spirit rises like a tide –

How deep are we going to go?

Are we going to get our big toe wet, as you do when you are testing the temperature of the water?  Are we going to get our ankle’s wet?  Are we going to allow this rising tide of the Holy Spirit to get our knees wet, or maybe our tummies or even up to our chests?  Or are we going to allow His Holy Spirit to completely cover us and saturate us and baptise us?

Do you know you cannot breathe under water?

Oh, some people can hold their breath for a very long time and others may struggle and squirm but eventually we will all die if the tide is over our heads.  So it is with the cost of true discipleship.

True discipleship will cost you everything!

True discipleship and submission to His Holy Spirit with cost you your time, your resources, your finances, your strength, your life!

Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
Matt 10:39

I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
John 12:24-25

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Taste and See that the LORD is Good!

November 30, 2009 by EVSTEVE

Hi!

This verse from Psalm 34:8a keeps coming up in my prayer times and my comings and goings with people…

“Taste and see that the LORD is good”

I believe the Psalmist is challenging all of us to “taste the LORD for ourselves”.  I believe this verse is coming out of the Psalmists experience of the Father’s goodness.  In other words the Psalmist is saying, “I know the LORD is good because I have experienced this to be true in my life – I am challenging you to experience the LORD’s goodness for yourselves.”

I have a story…

Years ago, the ‘207’ bus used to travel from Newcastle to Merewether.  So, when you saw ‘207’ on the front of the bus you knew where that bus was going.  If you weren’t sure where that bus was going you could always pickup a timetable or a map and find out the route that the bus was taking.  Or, you could just simply ask someone else where the bus was going.  Perhaps it would be wise to ask someone who has travelled on that bus before.

So, you could find out all about the bus and where it was heading by the information you could obtain and the testimony of those that travelled on the bus.

BUT….

to really know for yourself or to really experience where that bus is travelling to and to reach the destination of that bus it is necessary to hop on that bus and go on that journey.

Similarly, it is not enough to know about the Father, is is not enough to read about the Father, it is not enough to hear about the Father.  It is necessary to taste for yourself (and myself) the goodness of our Heavenly Father.  In other words, to taste and prove the goodness of the LORD for yourself.

Deut 4:29 says…
“But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul.”

And where is the ‘there’ in the “But if from there”, it is moving from a place of distress and dispair, a place of trouble and strife and abandoning God, to a place of surrendering your complete heart and soul to the Living God.

The Lord bless you! – Steve

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The “I will not give my glory to another” Dilemma

November 21, 2009 by EVSTEVE

“I am the LORD; that is my name!  I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols. [Isa 42:8]

I have been ruminating over this verse.  I have mentioned it before in a previous post.  I believe it is very important to understand this verse.  The Lord says, “He will not give His glory to another”.  So, how are we to comprehend the following verse in John 1:14…

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only,  who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” NIV

‘The Word”, which is Jesus, “became flesh and dwelt among us and we have seen HIS glory, the glory of the One and Only, who CAME FROM the Father”.  So, in other Words, we have seen the glory of the Father in His Son.

And this verse in John 8:54…

“Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me.” NIV

So, the Father glorifies the Son.  Isn’t this starting to look like God is giving His glory to another?

And what about these verses in John 13:31-32?…

“When he was gone, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified and God is glorified in him.  If God is glorified in him,  God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once.” NIV

How can the Bible be so contradictory?

How can God say “He won’t share His glory with another” and then, when Jesus comes along, start sharing His glory with Him?  Well, the truth is, there is no contradiction.  There is no doctrinal crisis.  But how can this be resolved?

John 17:5 says…

“And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. NIV”

Jesus had the Father’s glory before the world began and Jesus shared in the Father’s glory when He was physically here on earth.  Why?

Because Jesus is God!

God is not sharing His glory, He said He would never do that.  Jesus is God!  (and God is Jesus).

The Father is in Jesus and Jesus is in the Father

“But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.” NIV [John 10:38]

Jesus and the Father are One

“I and the Father are one.” NIV [John 10:30]

Be the way, the Holy Spirit is God as well but that is another blog. 🙂

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A Saving Hope

November 20, 2009 by EVSTEVE

When we come to the end of our tether and cry out to the Lord, He saves us and gives us hope.

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Finding Yourself

October 31, 2009 by EVSTEVE

Finding out who we are…

Isn’t this one of the BIGGER questions?

But how are we going to find out who we are?

Well, let me suggest to you that you could go down many roads trying to find out who you are.  Let me give you a pointer and a testimony.

For me, life has no meaning outside of Christ.

I mean, just looking at this objectively for a moment, how can the ‘created’ find meaning disconnected from the ‘Creator’?  It cannot do so.

Life radically and completely changes when we are connected to our Creator through the sacrifice of Jesus.

Our Heavenly Father always had a plan for your life.  Repent and commit your life to Jesus and you will not only find out who you are and ubundant, overflowing life but you will find that being in Christ IS your life.

Life is not all about you it is all about Him!

Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. [Matt 10:39]

For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your  life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. [Col 3:3-4]

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Desert Song & Jill McCloghry’s Testimony

October 31, 2009 by EVSTEVE

Good morning!  I was just skimming through a few Youtube clips this morning and I was really touched and encouraged by this particular clip and testimony.  You know, there are so many contemporary Christian songs that we sing that lack the content and depth and truth of the older hymns.  This song isn’t one of them. Enjoy!

Desert Song

– Brooke Fraser (Hillsong)

-VERSE 1-
This is my prayer in the desert,
When all that’s within me feels dry,
This is my prayer in my hunger and need,
My God is the God who provides,

-VERSE 2-
And this is my prayer in the fire,
In weakness, or trial, or pain,
There is a faith proved more worth than gold,
So refine me Lord through the flame,

-CHORUS-
I will bring praise,
I will bring praise,
No weapon formed against me shall remain,
I will rejoice, I will declare,
God is my victory and He is here,

-VERSE 3-
This is my prayer in the battle,
When triumph is still on its way,
I am a conqueror and co-heir with Christ,
So firm on his promise I’ll stand,

-CHORUS-
I will bring praise,
I will bring praise,
No weapon formed against me shall remain,
I will rejoice, I will declare,
God is my victory and He is here,

-REFRAIN- x 4
All of my life, in every season,
You are still God,
I have a reason to sing,
I have a reason to worship,

-CHORUS-
I will bring praise,
I will bring praise,
No weapon formed against me shall remain,
I will rejoice, I will declare,
God is my victory and He is here,

-VERSE 4-
And this is my prayer in the harvest,
When favour and providence flow,
I know I’m filled to be emptied again,
The seed I receive I will sow

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