Tag: Love
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Love & Humility
Text: John 13:33-35
(33) Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you.
(34) A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
(35) By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
God prepares you for what you will face in life by teaching you how to serve others with Love & Humility.
The Passover – The Last Supper (John 13:1–38)[1]
The disciples crowded through the door into the large upper room, eager to eat the Passover supper with Jesus.
Peter and John had arrived early to make everything ready, and the room was filled with the scent of roasted lamb, fresh-baked unleavened bread, vegetables, and vinegar. No one had eaten since noon, and now it was late evening. Everyone was hungry.
They all hurried to take their places, reclining on mats and cushions around a low table. No doubt many of them tried to sit as close to Jesus as possible. John had taken advantage of his role as organizer of the meal to ensure he was right next to Jesus.
Judas sat on the other side of Jesus. Both sat in places of honor…
However, No one made use of the large ceremonial jars full of water and the towels by the door they had just entered. Their feet were soiled with the dust, debris, and filth from the roads and streets they just walked.
There was no servant present and not one of the disciples was willing or thoughtful enough to take on that lowly role and wash the other’s feet.
When they had all gathered, Jesus said, “With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer: for I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God” (Luke 22:15–16).
Jesus broke the bread and passed it around the table, telling them this bread was His body, which was broken for them. He passed around the cup of wine, saying, “This cup is the New Testament in my blood, which is shed for you” (Luke 22:19–20).
The moment was solemn and holy.
Yet a low, muttered argument started up among the disciples. Perhaps those relegated to the far end of the table were casting envious glances at John, Judas and the others who had positioned themselves closest to Jesus.
The old argument was flaring up again…
Somehow, despite following the humble Jesus, there developed a debate and a point of contention among the disciples. In their pride they began to argue among themselves:
“And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest” (Luke 22:24).
Jesus took one last opportunity and turned it into a teachable moment.
At other times, Jesus had stopped them and taught them the greatest of them should be the servant of all, but His words had not reached them.
Jesus decided to send a much stronger message and without whispering a word, Jesus rose from supper, wrapped a towel around His waist, poured a basin full of water, and approached the table. He knelt at the feet of the first disciple, placed his foot into the basin, washed it clean, and then dried it with the towel around His waist.
A hush settled over the room.
Embarrassment. Confusion. Conviction.
Jesus was preaching a message more powerful than any other—one that would change the disciples’ lives forever. Actions speak louder than words.
Jesus Served His Disciples Because He Loved Them
Jesus loved His disciples enough to humble Himself and wash their feet. Jesus did not just tell His disciples He loved them; love moved Him to action.
Many people are happy to be served, but few are happy to serve.
Do you want to know if you have a heart for others?
How do you respond when you are asked to serve others?
In Jesus’ day, the lowliest servant or slave was expected to wash feet. That task was dirty and demeaning, yet Jesus willingly served because it was needed.
He saw a need and loved His disciples enough to meet that need.
Jesus loved His disciples enough to give them a powerful object lesson.
He knows that infighting will tear His church apart.
You will not be who Jesus called you to be as long as you are wrapped up in petty positional politics.
The church has no time to be weighed down with popularity contests and posturing.
Jesus loves you too much to let that be your future.
He loved His disciples too much to see them distracted by such selfish ambitions. So, He lovingly humbled Himself and intervened.
This was no surprise; Jesus had already shown humility and was about to example it even further:
Philippians 2:7–8, He “made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”
Jesus loved His disciples enough to wash their feet, and He loved you enough to die on the cross for you.
Jesus Corrected Peter’s Objections
All the other disciples seem to have submitted without protest, but when Jesus reached Simon Peter, Simon Peter asked in disbelief, “Lord, dost thou wash my feet?” (John 13:6).
The use of the honorific “Lord” is noteworthy here. Clearly, Peter was focused on the disconnect between Jesus’ status as his Lord and Jesus’ humble actions of a servant. Peter could not understand what was happening. In his typical brash way, Peter protested, “Thou shalt never wash my feet” (John 13:8).
Why do you think Peter refused to let Jesus wash his feet?
Peter probably had been thinking he was going to be the greatest in the kingdom of God. Maybe he had even been arguing that exact point with the other disciples. After all, didn’t Jesus give Peter the keys to the kingdom of Heaven? (See Matthew 16:18–19.)
Yet in that moment, Peter was getting a very different picture of what leadership of the church might look like.
He was either so convicted that he felt unworthy of Jesus’ service, or he was recoiling from the idea that the greatest in the Kingdom might be expected to serve in this way.
Jesus corrected Peter: “If I wash thee not, thou hast no part in me.”
Peter replied: “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.”
Jesus Modeled Service and Humility
Jesus now had His disciples’ undivided attention.
His words would sink in deep.
He asked them if they knew what He had done to them. Were they self-aware enough to take the lesson to heart?
Jesus drove the lesson home:
“Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.”[2]
They learned a lesson that they never forgot.
I Will Serve Others in Love and Humility as Jesus Directs Me
That lesson is just as much for us today as it was for them then.
Pride and the desire for higher position is just as much an issue in the church today as it was among the disciples in the first century AD.
If we are not careful, we can engage in hero worship, putting leaders on a pedestal only Jesus should occupy.
And if leaders are not careful, they can begin to think they belong there.
Jesus’ example brings us back to the reality He taught His disciples another time when they were disputing about who should be the greatest. “And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all” (Mark 9:35).
Never forget that the greatest among us is to be the servant of all.
The most important person in the Church is not at the top, but at bottom, humbly serving everyone out of love.
Your greatness in God’s Kingdom is directly related to how many people you love and serve; not how many people love and serve you.
Jesus Prepares Us
Jesus repeatedly warned His disciples of what was coming.
He even tried to brace them for another great shock.
One of those sitting around the table, who had just eaten the Passover supper with Him and whose feet He had just washed was going to betray Him.
Someone in the room—someone in Jesus’ small circle of disciples—was a traitor.
Jesus told them to brace them and to prove His deity and foreknowledge: “Now I tell you before it come, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am he.”[3]
Here again is one of Jesus’ numerous “I AM” statements sown throughout the Book of John, the Gospel that heavily focuses on Jesus’ deity.
Jesus knew Judas’s betrayal would shake the other disciples, but it may also increase their faith, understanding He had a plan all along.
Finally, Jesus dipped a piece of bread into the wine vinegar and handed it to Judas. Immediately, Satan entered into Judas, and Jesus told him, “That thou doest, do quickly.”
Judas left immediately, and Scripture records it was night. Judas stepped out of light into darkness, literally and figuratively.
Jesus Gave a New Command to Love One Another as He Loved Us
Even as hatred and greed drove Judas into darkness, in the upper room Jesus was talking about love.
“A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another” (John 13:34).
It seems strange that Jesus mentioned a new commandment, considering how much He had already taught about love.
Love the Lord thy God.
Love your neighbor as yourself.
Love your enemies.
But this was the first time Jesus specifically told the disciples to love one another.
Perhaps, in light of their earlier arguing over position, He felt it was necessary to spell it out.
He did not simply say, “Love one another,” but He added, “as I have loved you.”
The love we are to show one another is a humble, self-sacrificing love. This kind of love would impel Jesus to wash the disciples’ feet and die for them.
The kind of love we are supposed to have for each other is both challenging and inspiring.
Of all the proofs of discipleship, selfless love for one another is the one Jesus points to above all others.
By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (John 13:35).
No wonder I Corinthians 13 says no matter how eloquent and spiritually gifted we are, without love we are nothing.
If we give all we have to the poor or even our bodies to be burned, without love we are nothing.
A life of humble, loving, self-sacrifice is the most eloquent proof of discipleship.
Just as Jesus Prepared the Disciples,
He Prepares Us for What We Will Face
Jesus knew He was giving His disciples a seemingly impossible mission.
Soon He would be gone, leaving them with the task of spreading the gospel across the world and establishing God’s kingdom on earth.
But Jesus did not leave them unprepared. He lived His life as an example in front of them. They saw how He was moved with compassion and healed the sick, cleansed the lepers, and raised the dead.
They saw how He pitied the crowds and fed them with bread and fish.
They saw how He took authority over demonic spirits. Even they had gone out two by two, preaching, healing, and casting out demons. They had seen how Jesus humbly ministered to the simplest needs.
Jesus walked in supernatural power and served in menial tasks.
Then Jesus gave them hope by promising that He would rise again on the third day as a convincing testimony to His deity.
He promised them the power of the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost would teach them all things and bring all things He had spoken to them to their remembrance (John 14:26).
The Holy Ghost would give them power to be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).
Through the power of the Holy Ghost, the early church would turn their world upside down.
Just as Jesus prepared His disciples, He also prepares us.
We have His life of love as an example through the pages of Scripture. We can experience His authority and also feel the calling to meet the simplest needs of those around us through humble service.
And we too can receive the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit living in us, speaking through us, and empowering us to change our world.
Amy Carmichael, “One can give without loving but cannot love without giving.”
Bishop Edwin S. Harper, “Jesus didn’t give His apostles scepters, but He gave them towels because He commissioned them to serve, not to be a Lord over God’s heritage.”
[1] SOURCE: UPCI Quarterly. Fall 2024. Lesson 1.4
[2] John 13:13–15
[3] John 13:19
Apostolic Life Cathedral | Aug. 25, 2024 | 6:30 PM
Text: Song of Solomon 8:6-10, “(6) Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame. (7) Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned. (8) We have a little sister, and she hath no breasts: what shall we do for our sister in the day when she shall be spoken for? (9) If she be a wall, we will build upon her a palace of silver: and if she be a door, we will inclose her with boards of cedar. (10) I am a wall, and my breasts like towers: then was I in his eyes as one that found favour.”
The Silver Palace and the Cedar Boards
Eph. 6:24, “Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.”
In sincerity = Margin, “with incorruption.” With a pure heart; without dissembling; without hypocrisy.[1]
There is a search going on tonight in this service. Like a detective snooping for clues,
A dog sniffing for that hidden morsel of food,
A child shaking that wrapped gift trying to figure out what is on the inside.
The search is on and Jesus is here, right now, in this moment searching:
“…the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23-24).
The Lord is pursuing men and women, boys and girls, who have decided to totally give their whole spirit, soul and body to Him.
It is a love search.
At the same time, there is in each of us a longing to love and to be loved.
It is part of the divine spark in each of us that we received when “the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (Genesis 2:7).
The Lord is still looking for this who will “fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, to keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?” (Deuteronomy 10:12-13).
When Jesus finds you will He discover that you “love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity?”
No hint of corruption? With a pure heart? No pretend affection? A love without hypocrisy?
Is your relationship with Jesus a firm wall of live, or is there a door, an entrance open to the enemy of your soul?
Tonight, the enemy want to destroy your relationship with God by placing on you the trap shame.
The “disintegrating power of shame began in the garden of Eden”[2] (Gen. 2:25-4:1).
Here was a beautiful garden of perfection and here was where Eve was beguiled, seduced and tricked because of the cunning craftiness of the whisperer – the serpent – who appealed to her desires:
- Lust of the flesh – she saw that “the tree was good for food”
- Lust of the eyes – “that it was pleasant to the eyes”
- Pride of life – “and a tree to be desired to make one wise”
The moment Adam and Eve ate of that tree of knowledge of good and evil it set into motion a satanic plan that has been the spearhead of the devil’s attack on all those who love God and want to be faithful.
They were previously unashamed, but now shame made them run and hide from the lover of their soul.
And the Lord still went searching for them…
You see, “While human guilt reflects the experience of having done something wrong, shame conveys that there is something inherently wrong with us. Shame is a reality we feel deep within us, telling us, reminding us, we are bad, that somehow we are not enough.”[3] It is the lie that you possess a fundamental evil and have no hope.
I want to tell you tonight, anyone who tries to place that reality on you is a tool of the enemy, unsafe and should be avoided.
“By its very nature, shame likes to hide and is often silent and subtle,”
…but “Perfectly secure and safe in the love of Christ, we can choose not to hide…”
“…the more vulnerable I am with safe people around me, the more emotionally resilient I am and the more joy I experience even in times of difficulty and suffering.”
And the most safe person to be around is the Lord Jesus Christ.
There is a beautiful integration, an integral union, an integrity of relationship between you and Jesus that the enemy cannot stand.
It is a wall of love that you and God build together.
It acts as a bulwark against the enemy.
Since God’s love never fails, then satan will test your love, or try to divide through tools of disintegration to weaken and loosen the wall.
There is something to be said of this wall of love that stands firm on integrity.
Psalm 101 is known as the integrity psalm:
- “I will sing of mercy and judgment: Unto thee, O LORD, will I sing” (Psalm 101:1, KJV).
- “I will sing of steadfast love and justice; to you, O Lord, I will make music” (Psalm 101:1, ESV).
- Mercy, Steadfast love, is “sticky love.” “It is the sort of love you can’t shake off. It sticks to you through every high and low, every success and failure, every malfunction and sin,” every victory and defeat.[4]
- Sticky Love holds that wall together and helps maintain its integrity.
Shame would try to disintegrate that wall of love, but God’s mercy, His steadfast love, attaches you to Him.
The enemy wants to destroy that attachment by disintegrating the wall of relationship, mutual trust and integrity between the betrothed bride and her Groom.
Remember:
The devil works overtime to steal (by stealth), to kill (slay, slaughter), to destroy (put out of the way entirely, abolish, to ruin, render useless)[5]
The Lord has said:
- Deut 7:8, “…because the LORD loved you…
- Jer 31:3, “The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.”
- Mal 1:2, “I have loved you, saith the LORD.”
- Jn 3:16, “For God so loved the world…”
- Ro 5:8, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
- Eph 2:4-5, “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ…”
- Eph 5:1-2, “Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.”
- 1 Jn. 4:16, “God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.”
Nothing can separate, disintegrate, remove, or detach you from God’s love:
Romans 8:35-39, “(35) Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? (36) As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the laughter. (37) Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. (38) For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, (39) Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
“We have a little sister, and she hath no breasts: what shall we do for our sister in the day when she shall be spoken for? If she be a wall, we will build upon her a palace of silver: and if she be a door, we will inclose her with boards of cedar.”
- The little sister is the gentile bride, the church
- The Silver Palace is the blessing and favor of God: strength, beauty, enlarge, adorn
- The Cedar Boards God’s attempt to protect you from your own mistakes and shame until you are mature enough to maintain your own integrity:
- Weak in faith, but not rejected by God. He encloses, strengthens and fortifies until the bride is mature in faith.“Cedar is a soft and deliciously fragrant wood. The resin and oils in the wood make it inedible to termites.”[6] = Sticky Love
- Cedar boards are strong and beautiful and durable.
The young brides reply, “I am a wall, and my breasts like towers: then was I in his eyes as one that found favour” (SoS 8:10).
Now mature and ready to be married, she has been faithful and maintained her love for the Groom with Integrity.
[1] Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible. Ephesians 6:24.
[2] Tom Nelson, The Flourishing Pastor
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Jn. 10:10
[6] https://holderpest.com/blog/3-building-materials-that-do-not-require-termite-control
Fruitful Character Series: Lesson Two:[1]
- Our Purpose is to Bear Fruit…to be fruitful
- The Foundation of Fruitful Character is Love
Scripture Text: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23).
John 15:1-5, “(1) I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. (2) Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. (3) Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. (4) Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. (5) I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”
“Joy is love exalted; peace is love in repose; long-suffering is love enduring; gentleness is love in society; goodness is love in action; faith is love on the battlefield; meekness is love in school; and temperance is love in training.” -Dwight L. Moody
[1] Material gleaned from Ron Wofford’s 2004 series on Christian Character.
Categories
The Drawing Power
Numbers 4:29-33
(29) As for the sons of Merari, thou shalt number them after their families, by the house of their fathers; (30) From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old shalt thou number them, every one that entereth into the service, to do the work of the tabernacle of the congregation. (31) And this is the charge of their burden, according to all their service in the tabernacle of the congregation; the boards of the tabernacle, and the bars thereof, and the pillars thereof, and sockets thereof, (32) And the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords, with all their instruments, and with all their service: and by name ye shall reckon the instruments of the charge of their burden. (33) This is the service of the families of the sons of Merari, according to all their service, in the tabernacle of the congregation, under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.
Isaiah 54:2-3
(2) Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes; (3) For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.
Isaiah 33:20, “Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities: thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be taken down; not one of the stakes thereof shall ever be removed, neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken.”
Brass Pins/Stakes were used in the Tabernacle in the wilderness to secure the gold pillars of the Outer Court upright.
These pins were driven in the ground at one end and fine twined linen was attached to the pins there and to the top of the wooden pillars overlaid with gold to which sheets of fine linen were attached.
This created a type of fence and there was only one entrance into the outer court.
The Ark had one entrance – there is one gate to the sheepfold – 0ne way to enter
The wood of the pillar represents Christ’s humanity.
The gold of the pillar represents Christ’s divinity.
Humanity wrapped in deity.
Fine twined linen was drawn tightly and fastened with the pins.
The relationship between you and God has to be mutual.
There must be as much as a desire on your part to draw close to Him as He has to draw close to you.
These cords speak to us of the drawing power of God and His love for men and women:
“I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love…” (Hosea 11:4).
Without the cords the pins and stakes would be useless.
It is God’s love that constrains us, that holds us together:
“For the love of Christ constraineth [to hold together us]; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15)
Matthew 15:8-9
(8) This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. (9) But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
We must keep the cords tied to the stakes and posts.
Consider that your identity with the Father is tied to how you treat those who mistreat you: “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:44-45).
The cord of love is to be drawn tight or everyone.
We are to love each one as our own self.
Our text says, “lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes.”
STORY: Camping one night when the wind began to blow and a strong storm blew in. Someone forgot the fasten the tent to the ground with the provided stakes.
A stake, a pin, will do you no good if left on the ground and not driven into the ground. The strength of the stake refers to its security in the ground, not whether it’s steel, iron, or brass.
There are some stakes we need to secure firmly into the ground firmly, and keep coming back to them in order to make sure they remain strengthened.
There are, among many, four fundamentals of faith that I will mention, and these four pins that will keep us attached to the love of God:
- Dogma = One God
- Gen. 1:1, “In the beginning God created…” God here is the transliterated form of Elohim, which means “plenitude of might,” or more simply, “one God whose characteristics are many.”
- Deut. 6:4, “Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God is one LORD.”
- In Colossians 2:9 we are told that in Jesus dwells all the fullness of the Godhead (all the characteristics of God) bodily, and we (the Church) are complete in Him (Jesus).
- Paul did say that the Godhead was a mystery, but then he went on to explain what the mystery was, “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.” (I Timothy 3:16)
- Only Jesus Christ fulfilled those six points. Therefore, Jesus Christ of the New Testament is Jehovah of the Old Testament
- Duty = Love (to God and to one another)
- Jesus & People
- Discipline = Study of Scriptures
- 2 Timothy 2:15, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
- 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “(16) All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: (17) That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
- Doctrine = What is right <<Thank you, Harold Hoffman.>>
- Reproof = What is not right
- Correction = How to get right
- Instruction = How to stay right
- Method = Union (Balance) of the Spirit and the Word
- Philippians 4:5, “Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.”
- Modesty, Humility
- 2 Corinthians 3:3-6, (3) Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart. (4) And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward: (5) Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; (6) Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.
- Maintaining a balance in the Word and in the Spirit is necessary for complete growth. Without balance you can get too far on one side of the road. The best way to keep balanced is to realize that the Spirit of God will never contradict the Word of God.
- “For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven” (Ps. 119:89).
- A balance of Word and Spirit will result in a heavenly reward:
- Ephesians 1:13-14, “(13) In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, (14) Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.”
- Philippians 4:5, “Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.”
Jeremiah 10:19-20, “(19) Woe is me for my hurt! my wound is grievous: but I said, Truly this is a grief, and I must bear it. (20) My tabernacle is spoiled, and all my cords are broken: my children are gone forth of me, and they are not: there is none to stretch forth my tent any more, and to set up my curtains.”
Instability in the Church, in our lives, occurs when we don’t strengthen our stakes and lengthen our cords by drawing closer to God.
James 4:7-8, (7) Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (8) Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
Why had this happened? Their hearts were not secured, strengthened, and lengthened.
“…I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it. (17) But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them; (18) I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it. (19) I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: (20) That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.
Love the Lord your God.
Obey His voice.
Cleave unto Him – Get as close to Him – draw near to Him
The Father is seeking people who will draw close to Him:
“…the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23-24).
“For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him” (2 Chronicles 16:9a).
There are moment in life where we are overwhelmed by life’s struggles that we begin to think that God is no longer drawing on us, that our walls are about to fall, BUT GOD IS ALWAYS THERE:
“Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him: On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him: But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold. My foot hath held his steps, his way have I kept, and not declined” (Job 23:8-11).
Proverbs 8:17, “I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.”
The Drawing Power is here right now…
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.” (Jeremiah 29:11-14).
He wants to bring you home…
The Drawing Power of God is pulling you home.
The Father was looking for the son to come home (Luke 15).
He was seeking for his return.
Text: Hebrews 12:28-29, “(28) Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: (29) For our God is a consuming fire.”
Ancillary: 2 Timothy 1:6-7, “(6) Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. (7) For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”
November 11, 1861: The burning of Guyandotte[1]
The Civil War hit home in the Cabell County town of Guyandotte on November 11, 1861. Union troops burned the town in retaliation over a raid pulled off the day before by Confederate cavalry.
Joe Geiger, who has written a book about the Civil War in Cabell County, says Guyandotte’s fate was the result of suspected collaboration with the Confederate raiders and the town’s secessionist reputation.
Geiger said, It’s not really clear exactly how many buildings were burnt. But practically the entire business section was burned and a number of houses as well.
It’s interesting to note Confederate sympathizers’ houses were not the only ones targeted. Many houses belonging to people of Union sympathies were burned as well.
In the fall of 1861, Guyandotte served as a hostile host to a Union recruit camp. The recruits weren’t able to put up much of a fight against the raiders. They were taken prisoner and forced to march to New Bern, Virginia.
According to Geiger, some of the animosity came about because of the march of the prisoners. It began at a full run. They were tied two-by-two with rope and were herded out of town. Apparently, quite a few of the Guyandotte secessionist women were dressed up with their aprons and were yelling at the prisoners and such. The march was very torturous…
The Wheeling Intelligencer newspaper called Guyandotte the “ornaryest place on the Ohio River” and said it ought to have been burned earlier.
That event is called
“The Burning of Guyandotte.”
I’m praying that another fresh fire will begin to burn in Guyandotte tonight and its flames will burn through the Tri-State.
One hundred years ago, In 1924, a Pioneer of the Pentecostal Movement, Lill Horton had a dream. She was in a Church full of stoves, but she was shivering with cold. So, she sought for an interpretation and this was what she received:
“There’s plenty of people (stoves) who need to have the fire of God kindled in them, but they do not have the Holy Ghost to kindle the fire. You need to go where the Holy Ghost fire is burning.”[2]
You are in a Church tonight where God’s fire and shekinah falls and fills the stoves of all who will willingly reach out to Him in faith, call out in repentance and praise Him with their whole heart.
Others in this room tonight have received the Holy Spirit of God, but you’ve allowed the flame to become a barely glowing ember.
You need to hear, heed, listen and obey Paul’s words to Timothy:
“(6) Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. (7) For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:6-7).
It is absolutely necessary that you stir the embers and bring forth a fresh fire tonight.
For 100 years there has been a fire in Guyandotte.
It started in Guyandotte and that same Holy Ghost fire is here tonight.
This campus in located at 350 Staunton Street in the Guyndotte section of Huntington…
But this fire I’m preaching isn’t confined to any street of section.
“Our God Is A Consuming Fire”
The fire of the Holy Ghost crosses rivers and bridges
Social divisions, economic disparities, prejudicial thinking, generational gaps
The Holy Ghost fire I am talking about is a cord of flame uniting every Spirit-filled believer together in their faith and experience:
“For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:12-13).
Our God is a consuming fire!
Look at our text: Hebrews 12:28-29, “(28) Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: (29) For our God is a consuming fire.”
This kingdom that began on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2 (And when the day of Pentecost was fully come), placed in those 120 Holy Ghost divine power:
“But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
This kingdom cannot be moved.
It is built and established on a Rock – The Lord Jesus Christ – and the gates of Hell cannot prevail against it.
A consuming fire?
God in Christ is a consuming fire. Our Lord Jesus is “full of grace and mercy, yet He will appear in great wrath to His enemies, who will not let Him reign over them.”[3]
There is a payday someday.
So, we worship Him with reverence – a humility recognizing our unworthiness, and Godly fear – a desire from our most tender area of faith and affection not to offend God.[4]
Why? Although we see Him in this present church age as a God of mild majesty, He still possesses the tremendous power He displayed at mount Sinai, and one day, maybe tonight, He will break forth as a consuming fire against all those who violate His law and despise his gospel.[5]
I used the fire pit last night while cleaning out my garage,
The fire was hot, bright and even singed hair on the back of my hand.
The smoke got all over my clothes, my skin, hair, and even nostrils were full of the smoke…the lasting residue of the fire.
Paul told us what lasting effect the Gift, the fire, of the Holy Ghost has on us:
Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:6-7).
- No Fear – no timidity, no cowardice, but boldness
- Power – a holy courage, dunamis, miraculous power, strength,
- “Power to encounter foes and dangers; power to bear up under trials; power to triumph in persecutions.”[6]
- Love – God & Man
- “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love” (1 John 4:18).
- Sound Mind – To think clearly. Discretion. The Mind of Christ.
- Philippians 2:1-11, (1) If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, (2) Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. (3) Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. (4) Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. (5) Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: (6) Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: (7) But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: (8) And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. (9) Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: (10) That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; (11) And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
[1] http://archive.wvculture.org/hiStory/timetrl/ttnov.html#1111. Accessed: 1/28/2024.
[2] Mary H. Wallace. (1981) Pioneer Pentecostal Women (Vol. I). Word Aflame Press. 119-120.
[3] Hebrews 12:29. John Gill’s Exposition of the Bible.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Albert Barnes.
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So, You Want To Be Like Jesus?
Sermon: So, You Want To Be Like Jesus? (VIDEO:25:00-1:15:48) | Stephen Kuntzman | 7/8/2018 | Apostolic Life Cathedral – Facebook Page (Huntington, WV)
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Saying the Name of Jesus
According to the late T. W. Barnes, many people pronounce the name of Jesus without really knowing how to say it. He specified four ways to say the name of Jesus:
- Say His name with love; the early church had great success, because they loved not their lives, they loved that Name. Love is powerful. Their love gave them reverence for the Name.
- Say His name with vision. Say it seeing the invisible. A woman said, “I resist the devil and he doesn’t leave.” Bro. Barnes asked her, “What do you look for? The Bible doesn’t say resist him and see him sitting on your shoulder; when you resist him you should see him running. The devil no doubt left you when you said in Jesus Name, but since you did not expect him to go, your thinking made you as miserable as if he stayed with you.”
- Say His name with faith. Religious leaders in Israel asked the disciples, “How did you heal the man crippled from his mother’s womb?” Peter answered, “…by the name of Jesus Christ…”
- Say His name while living a life of sacrifice. The disciples sacrificed everything for that name. We need to love it enough that no sacrifice is too great to make for Jesus.
-Nona Freeman, A Prophet in our Time (2007)
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Why is there so much power in the Name of Jesus? T. W. Barnes attributed it to the following reasons:
- His Word is in it – John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word…”
- His Blood is in it – Jesus is a blood name that redeems all people from sin and the effects of sin (sickness, disease, mental disorders, etc.).
- His Spirit is in it – The Holy Ghost that you received when you spoke in tongues the first time is that Spirit of Christ in you.
- The authority of heaven is in it – All power in Heaven and earth belongs to Jesus Christ.
- His faith is in it – He made everything by the power of His own Word; He spoke it and it happened.
–Nona Freeman, A Prophet In Our Time (2007)
T. W. Barnes’ website: https://www.twbarnes.com/index.html
T. W. Barnes Memorial Page: https://www.leestoneking.com/T%20W%20Barnes%20Memorial.htm
Originally posted on 2 June 2010 on https://thepillarandgroundoftruth.blogspot.com/2010/06/tw-barnes-saying-name-of-jesus.html
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Pursuing the Beloved of the Lord
Matthew 5:21-22, “Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.”
Raca comes from an old Chaldean word meaning “O empty one, that is, thou worthless (as a term of utter vilification).”[1]
In a time of prayer, I heard the Voice of God speaking to me these words:
Raca. I said, “Don’t call that word on anyone’s life. My children are not Raca. My children are not cast away. My children are not forgotten just because they are not present. Pursue the absent as you sow for new.”
I believe that we are being reminded and called to once again go to the loved ones of God, and the Church, who’ve fallen and restore them.
As we plant seed hoping for a new harvest of souls it is important that we not forget those among us who are weaker, or have been injured. Just as we put up stakes in a tomato patch to strengthen the plant and keep it from falling, or breaking, we also must remember that what may appear to be a falling member is really a fellow planting of the Lord that we who are spiritual need to edify and reinforce.
The safest place in town should be with the saints of Jesus Christ, and the safest place is with the saints of Jesus Christ. His love compels us to not only fulfill the great commission, but to also make sure that everyone in the body of Christ makes the trip.
We don’t cutoff a leg because it is broken, or pluck out an eye because it has an irritant in it, and we don’t marginalize people who may be weak among us. In fact, it is in our weakness, the weakness of the body, that our strength is realized for “we then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves” (Romans 15:1).
It is the will of God that we pursue and then bear the infirmities of the weak as we restore the fallen among us.
What rights have we to condemn, judge, or to cast aside the children of our Lord, when He came into the world, not to condemn His children in it, but to save them? He has provided Himself a ransom for many. He has shown us His mercy, and having believed we walk in grace being patiently taught how to live a sober and godly life. So, pass those lessons of love on to others who have fallen.
Who among us will strive to not only win a new soul to Jesus, but to also look for our missing brothers and sisters and speak words of love and restoration to them? They’re missing, but not forgotten, and just as the father looked for the return of his beloved younger son, we elder brothers should go with the same fervency and intensity that we put into the work of the field to find and bring our missing home.
Determine today, with me, that you will pursue the beloved of the Lord.
[1] According to Strong’s Hebrew & Greek Dictionaries (Entry # G4469)
Originally posted on 1 March 2011 on http://thepillarandgroundoftruth.blogspot.com/2011/02/pursuing-beloved-of-lord.html
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Paul’s Revelation of God’s Love
It seems to me that Paul caught a glimpse of God’s love in the moment that he is first introduced to us in Acts 7 because here we are told that he watched the coats of the men who stoned Stephen and the implication is that he had to have heard that man of faith as “he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge.” Much like Jesus before him, Stephen took a moment of horror and turned it into an eternal memorial of love and testimony. Stephen was so full of the Holy Ghost (Spirit of Christ) that he could only offer love in the face of hatred and violence. Perhaps this was the goad that Jesus referred to when He met Saul on the Road to Damascus. It’s possible that Saul was constantly reminded of that manifestation of God’s love and had to battle with his conscience over his part in that just man’s death.
Paul’s first experience with God’s love was that a man could, under terrible circumstances, love everyone – even his tormentors. This is only possible when one possesses that agape that Paul wrote of in 1 Corinthians 13. Agape is defined as “brotherly love, affection, good will, love, benevolence, and charity.” It is the ability to hold affection for others regardless of how they treat you and it is certainly modeled best by Christ and those who possess His Spirit.
Having been involved in the persecution of the early Church and then being forgiven and placed in a position of leadership and caretaking of those he formally threatened and slaughtered must have been a humbling and awesome experience in the life of Paul. It is no wonder that he could write, “Who shall separate us from the love [agape] of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love [agape]of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Paul had experienced the unconditional love of God and he was never the same.
I’m sure that Paul went through the gamut of emotions and questions, like, “how could He love me,” or “why does He love me so much,” or “what is so different about this man Stephen?” Yet, God took this mass of boiling humanity and turned him into the Apostle to the Gentiles and along the way he not only experienced the love of God, but he practiced it as well.
Paul’s revelation of God’s love was that it could only be received by the Holy Ghost. It is no wonder that he exhorted the Ephesians to “walk in love” because he knew the awesome power of love. Stephen was full of God’s love because he was a man full of the Holy Ghost and it was that fullness that Paul encouraged when he admonished the Ephesians to be “filled with the Spirit.” This was Paul’s revelation and it remains true – especially in our day. We need more “Stephens”, who have a fullness of the Holy Ghost, and more “Pauls,” who recognize that fullness as the love of God.
*First written on May 28, 2004*
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