Author: hillturnfs

As a child growing up in America and attending a Christian church we were taught you worship God by going to church on Sunday morning. That meant going early to attend Sunday school class with your particular age group followed by the regular church service where a few hymns were sung, the Pastor gave his sermon, and then we closed out the Sunday service with a prayer. Three hours each Sunday morning we worshipped God and we were done by noon. God was taken care of so we were good for the week. That was our idea of worshipping God, which was reinforced by the words and actions of our Pastor and deacons in the church. We thought at the time we were doing good by God. We thought God would be proud of us for spending three hours a week worshipping him.

Psalm 29:2 – Give unto the Lord the glory due to His name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.

John 4:23-24 – (Jesus speaking) – But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.

Christians have been indoctrinated into accepting the traditional “church model” of worship. Christians have been conditioned to worship God in a particular way that is beneficial to the church. We are led to believe we must go to a building in a physical location owned by the church on a particular day and time in order to properly worship God. Christians are made to feel guilty if they miss church as if somehow they have disappointed God in some way. Church leaders, of course, do nothing to lessen this perception because it’s critical for them to keep the members coming to the church and giving their tithes so that the interest can be paid the loans the church didn’t need in the first place. Churches have to go in debt so they can build bigger buildings and more buildings because Pastors were taught that bigger is always better. Instead of out tithes directly funding good works that actually help people most of our donations wind us as interest income for local banks. As it turns out, churches don’t manage their finances any better than we do and most of us are heavily in debt.

Revelation 4:11 – You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created.

Psalm 95:6 – Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our maker.

Revelation 1:6 – And He has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Let me remind you the “church” is the body of believers and not a building or a particular denomination. Each individual believer is the church and your body is the temple of God. Jesus Christ is the author and finisher of our faith and as our high priest he sits at the right hand of God making intercession for the saints. At the moment of salvation the Holy Spirit of God indwells us forever. At that point we can worship God anywhere we are and any time we want. We are the temple, God is inside us, and we can worship God spirit to Spirit as God intended. In the first century church believers met in small groups in each other’s homes to have fellowship and share the teachings of Jesus. That was worshipping God just as much as attending a service at a 15,000 member megachurch. There is nothing wrong with the “church model” of Christian worship but it’s not the only way to worship God and it’s not the best way.

1 Timothy 4:13 – Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.

1 Timothy 4:6 – If you instruct the brethren in these things (the word of God), you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed.

2 Peter 2:9 – But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

We need to define what it means to worship God so we’re all on the same page. The dictionary definition of worship is to show great admiration and respect for someone and when used in a religious context this is expressed through praise and prayer to God. The New Testament was originally written in Greek where the translated English word “worship” had three different meanings that were similar depending on how the verb was used. In the Greek, worship could mean, “to look upon with awe,” or, “to bow down to in deep reverence,” or, “to render service for.” We should note here that the Bible constantly tells us to “fear” the Lord which in the biblical context means we are to look upon God with, “respect, awe and deep reverence.” We’re to maintain our “fear” of the Lord through daily Bible reading and prayer. The definition of fear and worship are almost identical. When we “fear” the Lord it’s the same as worshipping God. It’s also clear to me worship is not something we do three hours a week. Worship is an attitude, a state of mind where we’re in tune with God, where we’re in proper fellowship with God and God is pleased with us. There is nothing more important on this earth than pleasing God. When we abide in Christ we are “worship”. Worship is something we “become”, something we “are” all the time.

Ephesians 5:19 – Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.

Colossians 3:16 – Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

2 Timothy 3:15 – And that from childhood you (Timothy) have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

God never does anything without a reason. God made the angels in heaven to worship him. God made man to worship him, first on earth, and then later on in heaven once we’ve accepted God’s grace unto salvation. God gave us a physical body as the vessel through which we are to worship God. Scripture says we were fearfully and wonderfully made. Why does God say this? God never wastes words and every word in Scripture conveys information for the spiritually perceptive. Physically we’re “wonderfully” made because the human body is a marvel that only God could make. No other adjective is needed.

Psalm 139:14 – I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well.

If God were only talking about our physical bodies he would have stopped with the adjective “wonderfully” because that says it all. When God continued on in the Scripture to also describe us as “fearfully” made he has gone beyond the physical man to describe the spiritual man. Spiritually we’re “fearfully” made because our bodies are the instrument through which we worship God by showing the awe, deep respect and reverence God deserves. To “fear” the Lord is to worship God. Most people don’t catch the double meaning intended by this scripture. Putting “fearfully” ahead of “wonderfully” in this Scripture tells you God’s priority. God gives us our bodies primarily for the purpose of worshipping him. Man is worship the same way God is love.

Matthew 22:37 – You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.

Hebrews 1:6 – Let all the angels of God worship Him.

As I mentioned in a previous blog, our incredible mind is our “worship organ” through which we worship our Creator. Look at what “is” and work backward to determine the cause or the reason. Scientists know that human beings have a bigger brain than we need as a species to survive and flourish. Why is that? We also know that humans are only using 10% of their brain capacity. How is that possible? Nonbelievers will never figure this out. It’s like giving a monkey a football and telling him to go play the game. God’s Word says the Holy Scriptures are foolishness to the nonbeliever because Satan is the god of this world and he has blinded the nonbeliever so that they cannot see the truth of God without help from a believer or God himself.

John 9:31 – Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshipper of God and does His will, He hears him.

God gave us a bigger brain than we needed for survival because that’s where our eternal spirit is located. The Brain is also where the Holy Spirit resides. The brain is the link between the physical world and the spiritual world. The brain is the conduit through which we talk to God and God talks to us. The brain is what we use to worship God. We don’t need a bigger brain physically but we do spiritually. When we get to heaven our puny 10% capacity brain will not be up to the task of worshipping God properly when standing alongside the angels of heaven. God has thought of everything. God will give us back the 90% of our brain capacity we currently aren’t using because of Adam’s fall from grace in the Garden of Eden. With 100% of our brain capacity restored we will then be able to worship God properly. The theory of evolution is linear and it’s impossible to over build or have excess capacity. The only possible explanation for us having a bigger brain than we need and having 90% of our brain capacity currently not being used is that we were made that way by God.

1 Chronicles 16:29 – Give to the Lord the glory due His name; bring an offering and come before Him. Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.

If we abide in Christ and also in God’s Word our minds are in a constant state of worship. A Christian who obeys God and offers up prayers to God and the praise of our lips worships God for his honor and glory. A Christian who is living the life God intended is a walking, talking, worship machine 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The effective Christian does not need to go to church to worship God because we are the church and we carry our worship of God with us wherever we go, to the glory of God.

Ephesians 6:18 – Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.

Philippians 4:6 – Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.

The Bible tells us we are to worship God for his work in creation and for his redemptive work in saving our souls. We are to worship God through obedience to his commands, through prayer and through song. We worship God every time we give a sacrifice to the Lord in the form of our money, our good works and our time. One of the definitions of worship in the original Greek was, “to render service to,” Every time we serve the Lord in any capacity it is worshipping God.

2 Timothy 2:15 – Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Every time we read the Bible, study the Bible or share the Bible with others we are worshipping God. You worship God simply by living a faithful Christian life to the best of your ability. If you’re a Christian don’t ever let anyone tell you you’re not worshipping God. If you’re a believer then you’re saved unto eternal life. If you have eternal life then you’re a child of God. If you’re a child of God your life is an instrument of worship to God the Father. Everything we have belongs to God and everything we do for the Lord is our reasonable service because God has given us life.

Romans 12:1 – I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

Hebrews 13:15-16 – Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

When we’re saved unto eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior it happens in an instant. It’s the greatest moment anyone can ever experience in their life. The Holy Spirit comes to indwell us, in our mind, as our friend and constant companion. Upon salvation the Holy Spirit gives us a new eternal spirit to replace our sin-stained spirit, hence we are reborn. At conception God gives us a part of himself, which is our original eternal spirit. At that point we become immortal beings. When the Holy Spirit swaps out the believer’s original spirit with a new replacement spirit it’s an actual “rebirth.” God is “birthing” us all over again. Don’t be confused when the Bible says we’re “reborn” because that is exactly what happens to us spiritually. The Holy Spirit is Jesus. The Holy Spirit is God.

Philippians 1:6 – Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.

At the moment of salvation the Holy Spirit also changes the destination of our new spirit from eternal death in hell to eternal life in heaven. Just imagine your spirit is a train headed down the railroad tracks that eventually lead to the lake of fire. We’ve all seen the movies involving trains where the train gets to the end of the line, where the tracks end, and then plunges off the tracks into an abyss of some kind. Spiritually speaking, we’re all conceived and born in sin and our unsaved souls are like that train on the tracks headed straight to hell. We can’t stop the train once it leaves the station (at our conception). We can’t get off the train. We can’t prevent the train wreck that’s coming. The spirit of each nonbeliever is on their own individual train headed for the abyss we call the lake of fire. Our only hope is to change the train’s destination before it gets there. In the movies all the railroad switchman has to do is move a lever near the tracks to shift the tracks over a little bit so the train can be diverted down a different set of railroad tracks going to a different destination.

Proverbs 14:25 – A true witness delivers souls, but a deceitful speaks lies.

Keep this mental image I’ve created in your mind. Think of the Holy Spirit as your spiritual railroad switchman. The Holy Spirit of God is the only person who can move the rail switch which will divert the destination of your soul train from hell to heaven. When we’re saved, instead of going straight to hell when we die we now go directly to heaven to be in the presence of Jesus Christ himself. By his mercy and grace God himself saves the unborn and children up to the age of decision where they are able to choose between God and Satan (around age twelve). God’s love, mercy and grace unto eternal life is God’s greatest gift to man and we should honor, praise and glorify God for what he has done for us.

Matthew 22:14 – (Jesus speaking) – For many are called, but few are chosen.

The Holy Spirit writes our names in the book of life which means our salvation is secure. Salvation unto eternal life is irrevocable. Heaven is secure for all believers, who were called by God before the foundation of the world. If you’re going to heaven it’s because you were meant to be there and you belong there. God doesn’t make mistakes. Salvation is the easy part. The hard part of being a Christian is living the rest of your life in obedience to the commands of God, which is your reasonable service.

Jeremiah 31:16 – Thus says the Lord: Refrain your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears; for your work shall be rewarded, says the Lord.

Television preachers love to tell you all the “good stuff” God has in store for you but they neglect to tell you must also work for the kingdom of God if you want to please God. Working for God is the hardest thing you’ll ever do. As believers we are the “church” of God, not some building or a particular denomination. Jesus Christ is the head of our church and our high priest in heaven who is seated at the right hand of God making intercession for the saints. Believers are disciples of Christ and we are to obey all the commands of God, as spelled out in the Bible, to the best of our ability. As disciples of Christ we accept the new responsibilities and tasks we’re to perform for the kingdom of God.

1 Corinthians 3:13-15 – Each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.

We’re to glorify God and I went over the nine ways to do that in my previous blogs. It goes without saying that our first duty is to love God. That is God’s greatest commandment. If we read the Bible daily and pray daily it’s virtually impossible not to love God. Abide in God’s Word and our love for God will always be stoked. Jesus gave his disciples and all believers the Great Commission before he ascended back to heaven. We are to witness the gospel of Christ to the whole world. That is the believer’s number one responsibility.

Hebrews 6:10 – For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister.

Nothing is more important than saving lost souls for the kingdom of God. The Lord’s harvest field is full of lost souls and there are few believers who work it, who witness in it. Only 10% of church-going Christians have read the entire Bible and fewer still have taken the time to actually study God’s Word. You can’t effectively witness for Christ if you don’t know how and you won’t know how until you study the Bible. It’s only common sense. You can’t do anything until you know what to do and how to do it. Catholics don’t witness at all.

2 Timothy 2:21 – Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter (dishonor), he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.

Along with witnessing, Christians are also to instruct, edify and discipline fellow believers. Christians can’t do that unless they know what they’re talking about which brings us back to studying God’s Word. My passion is God’s Word. I read my Bible or Scriptures every day. I’ve assembled a reference library for my study of all things related to God. If you want to know God you must go to God. Don’t expect God to come to you. You must make the effort to know God first. I have an unquenchable thirst for God. Those who have it know what I mean. The Bible says those who seek God will have this thirst for God so I know I’m on the right track. God also says in the Bible if you seek him you will find him. I give you my personal testimony that this is true. Only our God says in Scripture, “come let us reason together.” Your duty as a believer is to know God. Search for the truth of God yourselves and then go where God leads you. Good luck on the race God has chosen for your life.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 – All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

The second greatest commandment of God is to love one another. As Christians we are to fellowship with each other because we are members of the same family. We are brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ. We are to love each other, support each other and strengthen each other. Another primary responsibility of Christians is to do good works. We are to care for our own fellow believers first but we are also called upon to help others in time of need. The Bible mentions caring for widows and children especially. God is good and as Christians we are to promote all that is good in the world and set an example so that nonbelievers will see the light of God in our actions and be drawn to the truth of God.

Ephesians 2:10 – For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

God will give us opportunities to witness for Christ to those whom he draws to the light of God in us. We do good works out of compassion for our fellowman but we must never lose sight of our main objective, which is to reap souls for the kingdom of God every chance we get. Christians must make their good works testify to Jesus Christ. All who receive our help because of our love, compassion and faith in God must know we come on behalf of our God and our Lord Jesus Christ in the hope that some will be drawn to the truth of our God. God will draw them if their heart is receptive. We just have to be ready to witness to them if they should ask the reason for our faith. All that we have belongs to God so when we do good works we’re only giving to others what God has given to us for this purpose. When we spend God’s money wisely we build up treasure in heaven for ourselves which we will receive on the last Day.

Psalm 42:2 – My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?

Psalm 63:1 – O God, You are my God; early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirst land where there is no water.

Psalm 143:6 – I spread out my hands to You; my souls longs for You like a thirsty land.

Psalm 42:1 – As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O Lord.

Matthew 7:7 – (Jesus speaking) – Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

Matthew 22:37 – (Jesus speaking) – You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.

Isaiah 1:18 – Come now, and let us reason together, says the Lord, though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

GLORIFYING GOD: (cont’d)

9. Through our suffering – The ninth and final way we glorify God is through our suffering. I saved suffering until last because, not only is it a hard study to explain, it’s also my least favorite way to glorify God. I love God with all my heart and I want to glorify the Lord as much as possible but if I can avoid suffering I will. I’m just not really keen on the idea of suffering. I wouldn’t mind passing on the cup of “suffering” if it’s passed to me. My wife says I’m a hypochondriac because I run to the doctor every time I get the least little health problem. However, I am mentally, physically and spiritually prepared to suffer for Christ if it’s God’s will for me. I can say that without any reservation or worry because I know in the end my God loves me and anything God does is for my benefit even though I may not understand it this side of heaven. I trust in God the way a small child trusts his father.

1 Peter 3:18 – For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God.

That brings me to the age-old question Christians have asked for 2000 years. Why would a just and loving God allow suffering in the world? Why are believers and nonbelievers treated alike when it comes to suffering by allowing them both to suffer equally? Why do some people suffer a lot and others appear not to suffer at all? We really don’t know all the answers. We have more questions than answers. God is not clear on this subject in the Bible. However, God does give us a number of Scriptures that shed some light on the subject. We are told in the Bible that our suffering here on earth glorifies God and as a result of our pain and suffering we also will receive praise, honor and glory in heaven the more we suffer for Christ.

1 Peter 1:10-11 – Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what , or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.

I know God sent Jesus, his beloved and only begotten Son, to suffer and die a terrible death on the cross in our place. Because Jesus suffered for us he received praise, honor and glory in heaven from God and all the angels. My question is, was it really necessary for Jesus to suffer that much pain and suffering before and during his crucifixion? Would our sins still have been forgiven if Jesus had died a little less painfully? If Jesus had died an easier death would it still have appeased the wrath of God against all sinners?

1 Peter 2:21 – For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps.

Luke 24:26 – (Jesus speaking) – Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?

God has perfect knowledge and he wants what’s best for us in every circumstance so we have to trust God, even when we do not fully understand everything that is happening. There’s a lot about God and the spiritual world that we don’t know, don’t need to know, and we may never know. That’s okay. What’s important is we know that God is never arbitrary. God never does anything without a good reason. God doesn’t owe us an explanation for any of his actions. God does as he pleases. What I do know for sure is that God is good and God is great. We need to remind ourselves that every day and then just relax and put our trust in the God who made us and who loves us dearly. You would not be cruel to your children and neither would God. We are, after all, God’s beloved children. God dotes on us like we do our grandchildren.

1 Peter 4:14 – If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified.

Luke 24:46 – (Jesus speaking) – Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day.

God loves Jesus dearly yet Jesus was made to suffer the pain and agony of a death by crucifixion, the cruelest method of death ever devised by man. Crucifixion was such a cruel way to die that no Roman citizen could be put to death in that manner. Death by crucifixion was so heinous that it was only used about 200 years before the Romans abolished its use. In the Bible it’s obvious Jesus’ death brought praise, honor and glory to Jesus and God the Father. It’s also obvious Jesus’ sacrificial death removed our sins so we could have eternal life in heaven. This may be hard to believe but God loves us ever bit as much as he loves his Son Jesus because we are also sons of God and co-heirs of heaven along with Christ.

1 Peter 4:12-13 – Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you: but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.

Jesus died on the cross for us because there was no other way to save us from eternal death in the lake of fire. Jesus suffered and died a painful death because there was no other way to fully appease the wrath of God for the sins of man. The wages of sin is death and a just God demanded that the debt be paid in full with a blood sacrifice. Since we could not save ourselves God came off his throne and came to earth in the incarnation of Jesus Christ to pay our sin debt with his own precious blood. That’s how much God loves us. We have no idea how much God hates sin.

1 Peter 4:16 – Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian. let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter.

Jesus died by on the cross to fulfill the prophecies of the Bible. God’s Word must come to pass. The Scriptures cannot be broken. We don’t have to understand it all. We just have to accept what we know to be true and trust God with what we don’t know or what we can’t fully understand. Everything will be revealed to us in heaven one day. Just know that if Jesus suffered for us then we believers will also be called upon to suffer for Christ in return. By God’s will some will suffer more than others. However much we suffer and whatever fate befalls us we are to bear it with dignity and perseverance while continually giving praise, honor and glory to God in every circumstance. In heaven we will be rewarded for being faithful servants of God.

GLORIFYING GOD: (cont’d)

8. Through our love – As human beings in our physical plane we cannot love as deeply and completely as God can nor can we even understand it this side of heaven. The Bible tells us not only does God love us but that God IS love! Could any one of us have sentenced our only child, our firstborn son, to die a horrible death on the cross for another person, a total stranger who was not even a good person but a terrible sinner?

Ephesians 5:2 – And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.

Don’t kid yourself. I couldn’t and wouldn’t make that kind of sacrifice and neither would you. Your Father and mine loved us enough to do this for us. If God’s emotions allow him to experience love and joy at an infinitely greater level than us it also means God experiences pain and grief much more profoundly than we do. God is reciprocal in all things. We can’t have the good without also having the bad. God would never take steps to ease his pain and suffering and we see that clearly in the life of Jesus. Jesus is God!

John 3:16 – (Jesus speaking) – For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Romans 15:5-6 – Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

John 15:8 – (Jesus speaking) – By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.

In the New Testament Jesus said the two greatest commandments are to love God and to love one another. Both commandments are about love. I believe the main theme in Heaven is going to be love. Love will be the secret ingredient that makes heaven heaven. Jesus Christ showed us perfectly how to love while he walked among us and we are all commanded to emulate Christ in our lives and thereby glorify God.

Galatians 2:20 – I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

Loving like God loves doesn’t come natural to us and if that is hard for believers to fully comprehend you know it is virtually impossible for the nonbeliever to understand that kind of love. Only as a saved child of God can we begin to understand God’s love, what it must have cost God personally to save us and how much we’re loved by our Father. It’s easy to love God because God first loved us.

Matthew 5:16 – (Jesus speaking) – Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

Luke 6:45 – (Jesus speaking) – A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

John 7:38 – (Jesus speaking) – He who believes in Me, Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.

As you read your Bible regularly (daily I hope) you’ll find yourself loving God more and more. God loves us deeply and we are priceless in his sight and this comes across clearly in the Bible. As we realize God’s love for us our hearts naturally overflow with love for God in return and the “good fruit” of our heart will manifest itself for all to see. Over time it will become easier and easier for us to love God, ourselves and others as we abide in Christ.

2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 – Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace, comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work.

I’m an introvert by nature and I’m pretty much self-sufficient. Loving and showing love never came easy for me. The more I meditate on God and study his word the more love I feel for all men. I have an increased capacity to love believers and nonbelievers alike. The fruit of my heart is that I show my love through my constantly worry about all those lost souls headed for hell and what I ought to be doing about it. Not a day goes by that I don’t ask myself, “What more can I do?”

Titus 3:4-8 – But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

My Christian blog site, www.onemoreforjesus.net, was created for this reason. By my passive witnessing online I just wanted to help save one more person for the kingdom of God while at the same time exhorting them to study God’s Word for knowledge, understanding and wisdom. I seek to keep one more person from spending an eternity in hell by my “passive” witness for Christ. I pray that God will give me, “onemoreforjesus.”

John 15:13 – (Jesus speaking) – Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.

Mind you, I still don’t have enough love in me to give up one of my children for a lost soul but I’m at the point where I would give up my life if that was the only way to keep someone out of hell. I can justify that sacrifice in my mind because momentary pain is nothing when weighed against keeping someone out of the lake of fire for billions and billions of years. How could I not make that sacrifice for a fellow human being, someone I love? I can’t come anywhere close to God’s love but I can see where he is coming from.

GLORIFYING GOD: (cont’d)

6. Through our preaching and ministry – In an earlier blog (Spiritual principles #4) I listed the crowns or rewards we can receive from God which are mentioned in the Bible. One of those was the crown of rejoicing which is primarily for preachers and pastors who faithfully guide their local church. You can’t preach the word of God unless God calls you to that ministry. I’ve always been a little bit jealous of that because I know that is one crown that’s out of my reach since I’m not a preacher. In studying God’s Word I realized I was wrong. God is fair to everyone so all believers have an equal shot at every crown in heaven. God isn’t going to have a crown reserved for an exclusive and select group of people to the exclusion of everyone else. There is no country club mentality in heaven. All of us are equal in God’s sight. This crown is available to anyone because it also applies to church deacons and other church leaders. It applies to Sunday School teachers, choir directors and even those who conduct Bible study. If you want this crown go get it.

People fail to realize the crown of glory is also for believers who have a particular calling from God, a personal ministry, where they do the work of God for his glory. Missionaries will receive the crown of glory because God calls them to that ministry. Mother Teresa founded the Missionaries of Charity in 1950 as a ministry attending to the needs of the poor in Calcutta, India, where she worked all her adult life. Do you think Mother Teresa deserves the crown of glory for her work? You bet she does and when we get to heaven we’ll see she has it. Dr. Albert Schweitzer built and ran a hospital in rural Africa all his life because of his love for God. That’s what God called him to do. Dr. Schweitzer has also received a crown of glory in heaven.

Ask the Holy Spirit for your own ministry that touches your heart and serves God at the same time. The Lord gives each of us good works to do. We just need to pray for God to enlighten us what we’re to do for his glory. God won’t be shy about telling you. I know people who have been hospital volunteers over thirty years to God’s glory. That was their ministry. I know a lady in her nineties who volunteers every week at a local food bank (she won’t tell me her age). God moves other people to help prepare and serve food for the homeless both in shelters and on the street. There’s no end to the ways we can serve God in order to bring honor, praise and glory to God for his love and mercy.

1 Peter 4:11 – If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

7. Through our fruitbearing – In my blog, Spiritual principles #4, I discussed the crown of rejoicing which God will give to all believers who have been faithful and effective in witnessing for Christ. God will reward all who witness for Christ but even more will be given to those who are good at it. I’m thinking of evangelists like Billy Graham. That man probably brought thirty million people to Christ. Can you you imagine the treasure Billy Graham had waiting on him when he returned to his maker? You can be sure Christ told Billy, “Well done good and faithful servant.” In the final analysis that’s what I want too. I just want God to be pleased with me and my works done on earth to his glory. I’ll plan and do whatever is necessary to achieve that goal. 80% of the battle of life is just showing up.

In my zeal for the Lord I’ve studied God’s Word. I’m equipped and ready to witness for Christ. The problem is nobody has beat a path to my door to hear my witness. Those with a passion for God never have enough people to witness to so it’s up to us to find innovative ways to share our witness. If we don’t we won’t bear much fruit for the Lord. We won’t be as fruitful as we’d like. In my case, I purchase Christian tracts a thousand at a time and I leave them wherever I go. I leave them in doctor’s offices, department stores, in Walmart bathrooms and I hand them out to whoever will take one off me. I give myself a daily quota of Christian tracts to give out, although the pandemic has slowed me down tremendously.

My Christian blog site, www.onemoreforjesus.net, is what I call, “passive witnessing.” I sow the gospel seed by urging others to study God’s Word and witness for Christ. I pray that my blog site will bear fruit by leading at least one person to the truth of God’s Word and salvation unto eternal life. The name of my blog site tells you my ministry for God. You can’t be effective for God by accident. You have to come up with a plan and establish goals if you want to be effective for the Lord. I’m going to reveal my soul to you and tell you my secret desire. My goal is to help save 100 people unto eternal life. God says we’re to work in his harvest field to save as many as we can. I’ll be happy with saving just one person but of course I want as many people in heaven with me as I can get. Not a day goes that I don’t think about all those lost souls in the world dying every day and going straight to hell for the lack of a witness.

John 15:8 – (Jesus speaking) – By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit.

GLORIFYING GOD: (cont’d)

5. Through our giving – In my previous blog I addressed the scriptural mandate to give 10% of all we have to the Lord. The Bible talks about giving back to God the “first fruits” of all he has blessed us with. We’re talking about the first 10% and not the last 10%. In reality God is being extremely generous because everything belongs to God. 100% of everything you have is because God has graciously allowed you to have it. God doesn’t need your 10% but by allowing you to give back to the Lord what he already owns he is justified in blessing you. You’re giving back to the Lord for your benefit not God’s. You’re not doing God any favors; just the opposite.

“You reap what you sow,” is a spiritual law of heaven which means God is reciprocal. You give to God and he gives back to you, only God gives bigger and better. When you give 10% to the Lord God will reciprocate and bless your remaining 90%. You will always wind up better off financially than if you hadn’t given anything to God in the first place. I’m not saying we should give in order to get more back. What I’m saying is God is good, God is great, and God is generous beyond belief to those who love him.

In our society the churches have taken that scriptural mandate to mean you must give that 10% of all you have directly to the church so they can decide how to spend the money. There is nothing wrong with tithing 10% to your church if that’s what you want to do but don’t for a minute think you have to do it that way. You’re not going to hell if you don’t give your money to the church. Tithing 10% to your church is just one of many ways to give back to the Lord but I don’t think it’s the best way to give. You have no control over where tithe money goes or what it’s used for. Maybe you’re paying for an airconditioned dog house for the Pastor’s dog. Maybe you’re funding a week long deacon’s spiritual retreat at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City or in Hawaii. You just don’t know where your money goes and that’s a problem.

We know God put us here on earth to seek him out and decide who we will serve, God or Satan. We’re to emulate Christ and live our lives in such a way that we bring honor and glory to God. One of the ways the Bible says we honor God is by doing good works and that takes money, your money. The Bible says you’re to give 10% back to the Lord, which can be in the form of good works where you decide where to spend the money instead of the church accountant. I prefer funding good works myself because it keeps my mind focused on God and how good and great he really is. When you think about God that is worship, which we are all to do. Why not do good works and worship God at the same time? The definition of worship is to have deep respect and admiration for the object you’re thinking about, which in this case is God.

Look at it this way. Tithing is like putting your money into a mutual fund. It’s impersonal, it’s no fun, and you get no benefit from it other than the initial buzz from putting in your money. Funding good works is like picking your own stocks. You have to do your own research on the stock market and then keep an eye on you investment so you can buy or sell as needed. Which type of investor do you think will please God more? You and I both know God prefers a hands-on believer with skin in the game and that’s the believe who puts his money where his mouth is and where his heart is. The good part is with prayer the Holy Spirit will help guide you so your gift pleases the Lord.

Let me be clear. There’s one thing I’ve learned during my study of God’s Word and that is God is reciprocal. With God you, “reap what you sow,” because it’s a spiritual law of heaven. On the last Day if God is going to remember every sinful act of the nonbeliever and judge them for those actions. You can also be sure God will be fair and he will remember every good deed of every believers who comes before the bema judgment of Jesus. Let me repeat myself because this is critically important. God will be fair to both believers and nonbelievers. Jesus will hold nonbelievers accountable for their sins at the Great White Throne judgment on the last Day.

The sins of believers have been forgiven so they will be rewarded for their good works by Jesus at the bema judgment seat. We’re going to be amazed in heaven by the fact that no kindness, no matter how small, will be overlooked by Jesus and we’ll be rewarded for it. Everything about our lives is under a microscope. God never sleeps. God misses nothing we do so live your life as if you’re under constant observation, because you are. Conduct your life at all times so as to please God. When you sin, and you will sin, ask God to forgive you immediately. You’re in luck because God has promised he will forgive any sin you confess to him. Take advantage of God’s mercy and grace every day.

It’s a scary thing knowing God sees everything you do and knows your every thought. At the same time it’s also a golden opportunity to build up treasure in heaven. A believer gives from the heart and not because he expects anything in return. I agree with the Apostle Paul when he says we are to run the race God gives us in such a way that we win the prize. There’s no shame in knowing we build up treasure in heaven by our good works and then trying to achieve it. Whatever you give to charity or by your good works you’ll get back tenfold in heaven.

During my 31 year career working for the federal government a little bit of every paycheck was automatically deducted and sent to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. That’s where my heart was and still is. God will reward me tenfold one day for my generosity. Where’s your heart and what are you doing about it? Are you depending on someone else to do what you want done for the less fortunate? Never wait for the other guy to do what you should be doing yourself. Do you think it’s up to your church to help others since you tithe? Have you washed your hands of any personal responsibility to do God’s work? Are you a watcher or a doer of God’s Word? I have a suggestion. Plan your work for God and then work that plan relentlessly until you achieve the results you want. God is watching you so don’t let him down. Your goal should be to hear Jesus say, “Well done good and faithful servant.”

Philippians 4:19 – And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Hebrews 13:16 – But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

It was never God’s intent to have these 15,000 member mega-churches that cover four city blocks. Churches where you have so many members you have to conduct multiple services every Sunday just to accommodate everyone. These big churches are so large there is no way you can meet and know all the members of the church. The closeness and fellowship is not there except for small circles of friends. Mega-churches were the invention of man because humans are conditioned to think in terms of bigger is better.

I’m not saying these churches are wrong to grow this big, I’m just saying there’s a down side to it. I enjoy watching Pastors like Jeffress, Hagee and Jeremiah hold their Sunday services on television as much as anyone. I’m saying it’s not required or necessary to belong to a big church in order to worship God. I don’t blame the Pastors for growing their churches so large because they were taught bigger is always better. All Pastors want bigger buildings, more buildings along with constant growth and expansion. All Pastors dream of televising their Sunday services.

The mega-church model is the gold standard for churches because the more members you have the more money comes into the church coffers. It’s all about the money. Pastors want their flocks inside the four walls of the church on Sunday so they can squeeze a tithe out of them. Churches want us to believe we must give 10% of our income as a tithe to the church so they can keep the enterprise going. Big church is big business. The continuous building programs must be funded. Scripture does say we are to give 10% of all we have to the Lord. That 10% could be a tithe to the church and usually is but it could also be used in a number of other ways that would also glorify God such as doing good works. Don’t let the church or society make you feel guilty about tithing. Everything you have belongs to God, including your money. Let the Holy Spirit guide you how to spend God’s money.

Most church members spend a couple of hours on Sunday worshipping God and then they forget all about God until the following Sunday; and the cycle repeats itself. That is not what God intended. All God’s creations, both angel and man, were created to worship the Lord. We see in the Bible that angels in heaven are constantly singing to God, praising him and worshipping him. Lucifer, in particular, was created specifically to worship God. I see angels doing their part to worship God but I don’t see men doing what they were created to do.

God created man to continually worship and serve him by using our minds. We know the human brain has a much greater capacity than we need to survive as a species and that’s with us using only using 10 % of our brainpower. Man has a consciousness, a self-awareness, that cannot be explained. God created our mind as the organ through which we are to worship him. Think of our brain as our, “worship organ.” Our mind is the nexus between the physical world and the spiritual world. Do you remember the movie “Stargate” starring Kurt Russell and David Spader? Our mind is our stargate; our portal between worlds. Through the portal of our mind believers can access the throne room of God and our mind is the medium through which God speaks to his creation.

Satan and his demons can only assault us through our minds because it’s the only part of us exposed to the spiritual world in which they operate. Our mind is a spiritual receptor, an antennae, capable of accessing the spirit world which is why the Bible tells us to guard our minds. Science has proven man only uses 10% of his brain capacity. Why is that? Adam had 100% of his brain power so he could worship God in the Garden of Eden. When Adam sinned against God he was expelled from the Garden of Eden and God reduced his brain capacity to 10% because Adam no longer needed 100% of his brain function to live on earth. The minute we enter heaven God will give us 100% of our brainpower back because we’ll need it in heaven to worship God as he intended, with our minds. Man will be continually worshipping God in heaven one day just like the angels are doing now.

Let’s face it, 99% of Christians are doing a pitiful job of worshipping God, me included. Two hours a week in church worshipping God isn’t going to cut it. God made our bodies to be holy temples of God, not because of our arms and legs, but because of our minds. The Holy Spirit indwells our mind because our mind is where we interface with God and the spirit world. Scripture says we are to worship God in spirit and that occurs in the mind of the believer whether we’re in church or at home on the couch.

God gave us a wonderful mind to worship him continuously anytime and anywhere. As I mentioned in my previous blog, worshipping God is not an act you perform like mass or something you do a certain way. God made us to be worship machines. We use our minds to worship God when we mentally show our respect and admiration for who God is, his holy attributes, and what God has done for us and what he will do for us in heaven.

Walking outside and exclaiming to God what a beautiful day he has made is worship. When you read the Bible you are worshipping God. Every time you say grace before a meal or pray to God you’re worshipping God the Father. To use our mind to think about God is to worship God. It’s why God gave us such a wonderful brain in the first place. Because God is good and God is great it’s impossible to meditate on God without praising and worshipping him in our mind which is by, definition, how we “glorify” God. Worshipping God is as easy as breathing in air so let’s make a conscious effort to do it and do it often. Then stand back and watch as God blesses our lives.

In short, you don’t need a physical church to worship God. Pastors want you in church because they need your money and they want you dependent on them. The simple truth is the believer is the church and not some building. Our bodies are holy temples of God. Therefore, we worship God in his temple (our bodies) through the use of our minds. You are worshipping God with your mind when you are meditating on God. What we need to do as believers is train ourselves to worship God more by simply thinking about God more often. Thinking about God is worship. We now know what worship is. We know we can worship God anywhere just by focusing our mind on him. We know we can and should be thinking about God all through the day.

If we work at it we can progress to the point where it’s easy to think about God continually so that we are worshipping God all day long. You are what you think about so be holy and think about God a lot. As we worship God more often we’ll develop the “fear” of the Lord that is the hallmark of Christians who humbly walk in fellowship with their God. To “fear” God means to look upon the Lord with awe and reverence. It’s a state of mind. Reverence means deep respect and admiration. In the dictionary reverence and worship have the exact same definition. When you revere God in your in mind you’re worshipping him without saying a word. But God knows those who worship him and he’ll bless them for it.

The Christian Church has been around for almost 2000 years. Since God made us he is our Father and he has shown his love for us by giving us eternal life in heaven in his presence. What is the purpose of the church? Our first duty as members of the Christian Church is to love God. It’s easy to love someone who loves you first.

Matthew 22:37 – (Jesus speaking) – You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.

If we love God we are then to show that love by glorifying God. Christians often use the term, “glorifying God,” very loosely because most of the time they don’t fully comprehend what that means or understand exactly how it’s achieved. If you don’t believe me ask any Christian you know how they glorify God. If you’re lucky you may get a couple of right answers when there are at least nine known ways to glorify God.

Few Christians know all the ways that God can be glorified and fewer still make the effort to glorify God in all areas because it takes a lot of willpower and discipline. God is worthy of our love, praise and worship so we need to make the best effort possible. Being an effective Christian takes a lot of hard work but if your mind is focused on God it becomes a labor of love. Let’s always look for ways we can glorify the God we love, honor and cherish. Review the following list regularly to see if you’re glorifying God to the best of your ability:

GLORIFYING GOD:

1. Through our praise and prayers – Prayer is how we talk to God. Without prayer there is no two-way communication going on between you and God and therefore no fellowship, no deepening of the spiritual relationship with God. We aren’t walking with God if we’re not praying to God. We should be praying daily to God and the more often during the day the better. Praying to God should be as easy as talking to your best friend sitting beside you. Praise is a natural result of prayer as you realize how much God loves you and how much God has done for you and what God will continue to do for you forever in heaven . The Bible is chock full of Scriptures telling us to give praise to the Lord because he is worthy of that praise.

The definition of praise is to show respect and gratitude as an act of worship. Worship is not some pompous ceremony. Worship simply means showing God the deep respect and admiration he deserves and we can do that publicly or privately at any time. It’s as simple as that and there’s no reason to make a big production out of it. The definition of glorify is to praise and worship God. When we use the terms glorify, praise and worship these are all words saying pretty much the same thing which is to always show God the deep respect, admiration and gratitude he deserves for what he has done for us. These words don’t depict a specific action on our part but is more of a permanent attitude of reverence for and acknowledgment of our Father in heaven. Along that same vein, in the biblical context when we say to, “fear the Lord,” it means to look upon God with awe and reverence.

Psalm 50:23 – Whoever offers praise glorifies Me; and to him who orders his conduct aright I will show the salvation of God.

2. Through our acknowledgment of Jesus – Scripture says we cannot please God without faith and that faith is in his Son Jesus Christ, through whom we have the forgiveness of sin and eternal life. From the foundation of the world God’s salvation plan for man was to send his precious Son to die on the cross to redeem us from our sins. God made the ultimate sacrifice by giving up what he loved most because of his love for us. There was no other way for us to escape eternal death for our sins. God is glorified when we acknowledge what Jesus has done for us on the cross and, conversely, if we reject Jesus’ sacrificial death on our behalf it’s the ultimate insult to God which will result in our condemnation and spending eternity in hell. It never pays to piss off God.

Philippians 9-11 – Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on the earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

3. Through believing God’s Word – When you believe every word in the Bible is the wisdom and truth of God then God is glorified. When you read the Bible daily God is glorified. When you memorize Scripture, hear Scripture or speak Scripture God is again glorified. When we study the Bible in-depth that also glorifies God. When we spend time in God’s Word we are showing our deep respect, admiration and gratitude to God for what he has done for us. Spending time reading your Bible is glorifying God, praising God and worshipping God at the same time. Reading the Bible is the best way to stoke our faith in God and maintain a health “fear” of the Lord at the same time. Reading God’s Word fills you with the Holy Spirit.

Romans 4:20 – He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God.

4. Through our witnessing – We know why we’re here and where we came from. God created us and put us on earth for two reasons. First, to seek out God and make the decision to serve God or Satan. Assuming we find God and accept his grace unto salvation through faith in his Son Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we can then focus on the second reason God leaves us on earth instead of taking believers on to heaven. That reason is so we can share our witness for Christ with others.

Scripture reminds us that God’s harvest field is great and the laborers are few. God’s hope is that all his children will repent of their sins and turn to God and the salvation he offers for the asking. God is blessing us by letting us help save others. Every time we witness the gospel of Christ we’re glorifying God. When we emulate Christ by doing good works we’re witnessing for God by our actions and thereby glorifying God the Father. Those who see the light of God in our Christian works may be drawn to God by our example and be saved, to the glory of God.

Face to face witnessing for Christ is always the best but let’s face it, we don’t really get that many opportunities to do that. Or we don’t get all the opportunities to witness that we’d like to have. We have to think outside the box and make our own opportunities to witness for Christ. If you distribute Bibles to those who can’t afford them or support those who do, like the Gideons, that’s also witnessing because you’re sharing the gospel message contained in each Bible you provide. My favorite way of sharing the message of the gospel is by passing out Christian tracts which is also witnessing because it contains a Christian message and a sinner’s prayer at the end to guide the reader to salvation on their own.

The twin themes of my Christian blog site are studying God’s Word and witnessing for Christ. My blog is what I refer to as, “passive witnessing.” This is my 530th blog and every one was written to share my love for God and to exhort believers to study God’s Word so that they can be effective witnesses for Christ. Every time I write a blog or post a blog I’m glorifying God with my time and attention on heavenly matters. Every time someone takes the time to read my blog they’re glorifying God too because their mind is on God as it should be. I’m glorifying God every morning when I take quiet time to meditate on the majesty of Almighty God over a pot of coffee. Each of us must find our own personal time to be with God and worship him in our own way. Reach out to God and he will bless you for it.

2 Thessalonians 3:1 – Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified, just as it is in you.

When someone asks you what church you belong to they generally want to know what denomination you belong to. Are you Catholic or are you a Protestant? If you are a Protestant what denomination are you? In the first century the “church” consisted of those people who believed in the gospel of Christ who met regularly in each others homes to worship the Lord and study the teachings of Jesus.

The New Testament defined the “church” as the body of believers in the gospel of Christ and over the last 2000 years the church has evolved into different denominations with slightly different doctrines. As long as a church holds to the core beliefs of the gospel of Christ it is considered a Christian church and its members are saved. If a church departs from the gospel of Christ that church is a cult and its members will feel the wrath of God on the last Day.

Psalm 89:5 – And the heavens will praise Your wonders, O Lord; Your faithfulness also in the assembly of the saints.

Jesus Christ is the author of Christianity and the head of the Christian church. As believers we are members of the church and collectively we are referred to as the body of Christ. Each Christian is connected to each other spiritually and we are brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus. When did we become the Christian church? Some people think the church began with Adam in the Garden of Eden.

Others point to Abraham, the Apostle Paul and to John the Baptist as the starting point of Christianity. Most people point to the life of Jesus Christ as the beginning of the church. Christianity means, “Christ’s men.” and Jesus is certainly the author of our faith and the head of the church from his position in heaven at the right hand of God where he serves as our Advocate and High Priest.

Matthew 16:18 – (Jesus speaking) – And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

However, the “church” didn’t start during Jesus’ lifetime. Jesus made it a point to tell his disciples he had to return to heaven so that he could send the Holy Spirit who would fill them and empower them to preach the gospel of Christ to the ends of the earth. Think about it. There couldn’t be a church in the world until Christ’s death because the foundational message of the church is the finished work of Jesus on the cross where he shed his precious blood for the sins of all men.

Furthermore, there could be no church until Christ arose from the dead to provide the church with resurrection life. No resurrection meant no eternal life for believers and therefore no church. There could also be no church until Jesus ascended back to heaven to become the head of the church and our High Priest. Nor could the church exist without Jesus being at the right hand of God making intercession for us and acting as our Advocate in heaven.

Ephesians 1:19-20 – And what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places.

Finally, there could be no church on earth until the advent of the Holy Spirit. God made us and our bodies are the holy temples of God. After Jesus people no longer had to go to a man-made building or a certain location to worship God. God now comes to us and indwells believers with his Holy Spirit so each of us is a temple of God and we’re free to worship God in spirit anywhere we are and at any time. Our eternal spirits are regenerated, baptized and sealed by the Holy Spirit of God through faith in Jesus.

For all the reasons I’ve mentioned above, it’s evident the Christian church started at Pentecost after the death of Jesus when the Holy Spirit came to earth to indwell all believers from that point forward. In Matthew 16:18, Jesus spoke of the church as being in the future so we know the church was not in Jesus’ lifetime.

Let’s say the “church” is a car. A car can’t go anywhere without fuel to power the engine so we can drive it. In the same way the Holy Spirit is the fuel used to drive the “church” forward. The Holy Spirit is the gasoline that makes the “church” go. There can be no “church” without the active involvement of the Holy Spirit of God. The tremendous growth of the early “church” was due to the work and ministry of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 1:5 – (Jesus speaking to his disciples) – For John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.

Acts 11:15-16 – (Peter speaking) – And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them (the Gentiles), as upon us at the beginning. Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, “John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

The principal evidence that the church began on the day of Pentecost concerns the baptizing work of the Holy Spirit. The Lord declared that this particular and distinctive ministry of the Holy Spirit was still in the future just before his ascension. We know from Scripture that the indwelling of believers first occurred on the Pentecost following Jesus’ death and this spiritual baptism officially places the believer in the body of Christ. Pentecost is the Jewish festival also known as the, “feast of harvest,” which comes fifty days after Passover and commemorates the end of the grain harvest season.

Since this baptism by the Holy Spirit is the only way to become a member of the body of Christ, which is the church, it’s obvious that the “church” officially began on the day of Pentecost in 33 AD. The Church of God didn’t begin by any announcement but simply by a function of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost when all those believers in Jerusalem were filled with the Holy Spirit of God.

1 Corinthians 12:12-14 – For as the body is is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body- whether Jews or Greeks (Gentiles), whether slaves or free- and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. For in fact the body is not one member but many.

As believers, as members of the body of Christ, we are, “the church.” As such we have an obligation to fully understand the age-old war between God and Satan and where we are in the historical context (timeline) of this epic struggle between two powerful supernatural beings. This is ultimately a struggle between good and evil. We watched this war play out in the pages of the Old and New Testaments. God gave us his Word to make sure man, his special creation, knew what was going on in the spiritual world; what had already happened, and what was to come.

Genesis 3:15 – (God speaking to Satan) – And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.

God created all the millions of angels in heaven to serve him. God created the angels as powerful eternal beings and Lucifer, as the top angel in heaven, was the most powerful of all. Lucifer became full of pride and enamored of his beauty, power and wisdom and thought he should replace God; that he could be God. Lucifer convinced a third of the angels in heaven to join his rebellion against God. The ensuing war between God and Lucifer began with that battle in heaven. Lucifer and his fallen angels were defeated and thrown to the earth where we know them down here as demons. Lucifer became Satan; who we also call the devil.

Luke 10:18 – (Jesus speaking) – I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.

Satan was shut out of heaven so the struggle between God and Satan shifted to earth, which God had given to Adam. Satan tempted Adam to sin against God and when Adam fell for the trap and sinned against the God who made him the title to earth was given to Satan, who became the god of this world. Because of Adam’s sin he fell from grace and was expelled from the Garden of Eden and became a mortal being as were all men who came after him. The sin of Adam was imputed to all men and so all men became destined for eternal death apart from the mercy and grace of God. Since the time of Adam, Satan has bitterly opposed both the work and workers of God. Satan’s goal is to utterly destroy man whereas God’s goal is to utterly save man unto eternal life through faith in his Son Jesus Christ.

Romans 6:23 – For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 4:L8 – Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.

In God’s Word we see the deciding battle between God and Satan occur at Calvary. This was the spiritual equivalent of D-Day in World War II. Just imagine all the millions of angels of heaven and the millions of demons on the earth duking it out in the spiritual realm in and around Jerusalem on that fateful Passover weekend in 33AD. It was a replay of the angelic battle in heaven between God and Lucifer. If we could’ve seen this struggle from our physical world it would’ve made the best war movie ever. Let your mind imagine the three days Jesus was in the earth while the spiritual war between good and evil raged on. In the spiritual world every demon was in hand to hand combat with the angels of God trying to stop the resurrection of Jesus from happening because they knew it would defeat them, defeat death, and defeat the works of Satan.

Romans 5:12 – Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.

Romans 5:17 – For if by one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.

Why do you suppose God stationed two angels in the tomb of Jesus, one at his head and one at his feet, both facing the body of Jesus and never taking their eye off Jesus’ body for three days? God put those angels in place to protect Jesus’ body from demons wanting to desecrate it while the war raged on around them in the spiritual realm. The resurrection of Christ was the most important day in human history because it set us free from the ravages of sin; free from bondage to Satan and free from the curse of eternal death and separation from God. It’s fitting that world history is divided in BC and AD based on the life and death of Jesus Christ. God regained title to the earth with the resurrection of Christ.

Romans 5:18 – Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life.

1 Corinthians 15:54-55 – So when this corruption has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?”

Before the resurrection of Jesus man was lost to eternal death by their imputed sin from Adam and after the resurrection of Jesus man was saved unto eternal life by the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ, through the mercy and grace of God by our faith in his Son Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. We know this from Scripture by the fact Jesus went down to Paradise within the earth and personally escorted the Old Testament saints to heaven. God doesn’t allow sin in heaven. The saints couldn’t enter heaven until Jesus Christ came to earth and shed his blood on the cross at Calvary for the forgiveness of their sins as well as for the sins for all men, past, present and future.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead assured the righteous that they would have eternal life in heaven by the mercy and grace of God. Paradise contained Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, David, Noah, all the prophets of God and those who were deemed righteous by God. For further proof of Paradise within the earth look at the book of Samuel. In 1 Samuel 28:11-19, we learn about King Saul going to the witch of En Dor to pull up the eternal spirit of Samuel from within the earth so Saul could consult with him about the impending battle with the Philistines. Samuel was in Paradise along with all the other Old Testament saints waiting for the Lord to come and take them all to heaven.