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POSTULATES OF

CHRISTIANFAITH

ByPaul Messick

Revised Edition

Postulates of Christian Faith.qxd 1/4/2006 12:23 AM Page 1

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quota-tions are taken from The King James Version of theBible.

Direct quotations from the Bible appear in bold type.

Postulates of the Christian FaithISBN 1-88144-213-5Copyright © 2004Paul Messick6004 South Birmingham Pl. Tulsa, OK 74105

Printed in the United States of America. All rightsreserved under international Copyright Law.Contents and/or cover may not be reproduced inwhole or in part in any form without the expresswritten consent of the author.


Acknowledgments

I wish to acknowledge the following personsfor their contributions to this revised edition:My wife Deloris (patience and support).My Sister-in-law, Liz Groden (typing).The Lay Witness Mission Coordinators whose namesare included herein.My Fellow Missioners who are my steadfast sourceof love and joy.For constructive criticism and input:My daughter, PaulaDub AmbroseDavid ThomasDoroto DietzeDiane TaylorTerry Pope

-Paul Messick

The following abbreviations have been used:O.T. Old Testament (Jewish Bible)N.T. New TestamentH.S. Holy SpiritP.T.L. Praise the LordL.W.M. Lay Witness Mission


PREFACE

The Bible is truly the living word of God. Itspeaks to us through a number of ways includingpreaching, teaching, studying, and sharing. Also,there are many beautiful, inspirational songs,which are personal witnesses to the Bible’s lifechanging power that their writers experienced.

The Old Testament includes the Torah (the firstfive books), which is the heart of Judaism. Also, theOld Testament introduces God’s Law and Prophetsand tells of the impact that they had in lives of theHebrew people, both individually and collectively.The New Testament includes the Gospel ofSalvation (the first four books), which is the heartof Christianity. Also the New Testament intro-duces the transforming power of His Holy Spirit inthe lives of the Apostles.

Postulates of Christian Faith tells of the author’sjourney of faith and summarizes the Scriptureswhich have been the most inspirational in his life.It is a joy for me to share this book with you.

Paul Messick


INTRODUCTION

The introduction of the author of a book usu-ally implies that a person should consider readingthe book based on the author’s credits. This book isby a first time author and will have to depend onits title to stir your curiosity.

I became a Christian through openly repentingof my sinful nature, professing my faith in JesusChrist as my Saviour, and receiving His Spirit ofjoy as my special gift from God. That day was themost wonderful and most influential day of mylife. Think of this book as a circle of scriptures thatsimply and accurately reflect the Word of God. Itcontains the summation of New Testament teach-ings that define and encompass Christianity forme. May it simplify your faith as it has mine.

What we believe, and how it impacts our livesis the difference between truth and fiction whereour faith is concerned. Satan would have usbelieve in ourselves and that self-indulgence is thesource of meaning for our lives. God calls us toexperience newness of life and to overcome ournature through receiving His nature. (Rom. 6:4)


POSTULATES OF CHRISTIAN FAITH

A postulate is a prerequisite truth that, althoughit cannot be proven, once the meaning of its wordsare understood, cannot be denied. The word pos-tulate is most widely considered with respect tothe math course of geometry.

So what does this have to do with Christianfaith? To me, it is an exact parallel: The GospelTruth and Christian Doctrine cannot be proven,but when understood through faith in Jesus Christ,cannot be denied.

In order to identify the postulates of faith, it isfirst necessary to identify the faith. We’re talkingabout New Testament Christianity which upholdsJesus as both Saviour and Lord. By definition,Lord means Master: the one who has supremeauthority. Such faith will identify Jesus as the man-ifestation of God. Each of these Christian postu-lates is one facet of Christian truth.

The Old Testament upholds the Ten Command-ments as the prerequisite of righteousness and asthe basis of identifying sin. The Hebrew peoplesaw prosperity as God’s reward for righteous liv-


ing and they saw catastrophes and hard times asGod’s punishment for sin.

Christianity begins with a desire to know thetruth of God. The Apostle Paul writes that the OldTestament prophesies the coming of the Messiahand is like a schoolmaster, directing men’s livesuntil Christian faith becomes a reality in men’shearts. The pre-Christian theology is just as impor-tant today as it was then, but only as a steppingstone enroute to salvation through faith in JesusChrist. As our faith matures, our lives will reflectthe ongoing blessings of becoming His disciples.To Christians, this is the truth of God


CONTENTS

Basic Truth #1 - #10These are many of the foundational scripturesfrom which the New Testament derives meaning.

Way of Salvation #11 - #15These are scriptures that denote and express theimportance of accepting Jesus Christ as God’s keyto eternal life and abundant living.

Christian Doctrine #16 - #38I like to think of these scriptures as appliedChristianity: God’s response to every “real” prob-lem in our lives.

Blessed Assurance #40 - #44Through these scriptures, we become aware thatGod’s blessings are available to everyone. We canknow that the joy of our salvation is assured as ourlives reflect our faith in Jesus Christ


Basic Truth


1I AND MY FATHER ARE ONE

—John 10:30

This tells us that we can know God because wecan know Jesus. This may be the most significantrevelation of the New Testament. We’re aware thatwe cannot prove to others that God and Jesus areone, but we know it’s true because His Holy Spiritvalidates His Word. We can also put this postulatein perspective as the truth within all expressions oftruth. The life of Jesus was sinless. His love andcompassion for all men are expressions of graceand truth that only God could initiate. Jesus spokeof the Comforter who would come to recall andinterpret the truth of His teachings (John 16:13),but that the Comforter (Holy Spirit) would notcome while He was physically with them (John16:7). Jesus instructed them to wait in Jerusalemuntil they were endued with power from on high(Luke 24-49), which took place at Pentecost. (Acts 2:4)

Until then their only real decision for Christwas to be His Disciples. After Pentecost, their deci-sion for Christ was total commitment to share withothers what Jesus had shared with them.

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Postulates of Christ ian Faith


Thus it is the ongoing gift of God allowing usto know God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; thesource of love, the manifestation of love, and theon-going spirit of love. These are one in three andthree in one. The Old Testament Messianic prophe-cies are clearly fulfilled in the life and ministries ofGod’s Son. The Messiah has come in the person ofJesus Christ. Amen.

We have all shared our Christian love with oth-ers in numerous ways and we felt blessed for hav-ing done so. Some of these blessings came whenthey were least expected. One such feeling camewhen a young married lady, whom I had taught inmy 7th grade Sunday School class, visited ourChurch with her parents. She made it a point tofind me and give me a big hug and to thank me forteaching her how to pray. All I remember sayingwas that prayer should be as much listening astalking. I knew that I had only been a vessel toconvey God’s message to her, but I felt blessedanyway. Jesus, who calls us to witness, and God,who blesses us for witnessing, are one and thesame.

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Basic Truth


2JESUS CHRIST THE SAME YESTERDAY,

TODAY, AND FOREVER—Hebrews 13:8

Believing this enables us to rightly divide theword of truth, knowing that the Holy Spirit is theyardstick of all truth. The Holy Spirit enables us tounderstand the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to eval-uate all scripture. The nature of God as a loving

Father, is how Jesus portrayedHim and would never upholdworldly accomplishments as evi-dence of God’s favor. An exampleof Godly spirit in the Old Testa-ment is Isaiah’s response to God’scall for someone whom He could

send to be His messenger. His reply was simply,“Here am I Lord, send me.” (Isaiah 6:8.) He is thesame God who calls us to be disciples of JesusChrist. There is no doubt what our responseshould be.

In the book of Daniel, Daniel refers toNebuchadnezzar’s kingdom of majesty, glory, andhonor as having been given to him by the Most


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His reply was simply, “Here I

am Lord, send me.”


High God. (Daniel 5:18) This is contrary to theGospel of Jesus which recognizes the servantinstead of the master, as a Godly witness.

As a youth, I was inspired by Daniel’s faith inGod and by his strength of conviction. It helpedme to keep my life focused on God until the love ofGod, as manifested in Jesus, became a reality in mylife. To me, Daniel is like one of the pearl mer-chant’s lesser pearls that he sold, along with hisentire stock of pearls, in order to obtain the Pearl ofGreat Price. (Matthew 13:45-46.) We should keepin mind that the lesser pearls were the source ofmeaning in the life of the pearl merchant prior toobtaining the Pearl of Great Price. Daniel’s life is awonderful example of complete dedication to hisbelief in righteousness through obedience. AChristian’s belief is in newness of life throughfaith: faith that allows us to put Daniel’s life in per-spective and see Jesus as our all in all. Daniel wasnot a preacher like Peter, nor was he a missionarylike the Apostle Paul, but his ability to overcomefear, through complete faith in God, beautifullyparallels Christian Doctrine.

Praise God for grace and truth through JesusChrist, and for the Holy Spirit who transformed

Basic Truth

13


the Disciples into Apostles; from followers to lead-ers. Without this spiritual rebirth in the lives of thedisciples, Christianity would not have been bornand the New Testament would not have been writ-ten. How important is being born again spiritu-ally? Think on it.

Saying yes to Jesus opens a whole world ofopportunities for us to experience abundant lifethrough discipleship. Although only Jesus Christcould personify God’s true nature, it has been thesame since the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve lostGod’s perfect provision by failing to trust andobey. May we never be guilty of the same.


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3CREATION BEGAN WITH THE

WORD OF GOD —John 1:1-3

This reminds us of the awesome power of Godand that our lives are but a vapor. As such, we oweHim our complete devotion and obedience. Thisrelationship will enable us to see God in all of cre-ation and reminds us to worship God and not Hiscreation.

I hold a patent concerning a ventilation processfor pre-engineered steel buildings. I could design anew way to use the elements, but only God couldcreate the elements. It is awesome to think that cre-ation began with the Word of God: that His wordis the source of all there is including all forms oflife. Although all of nature has wonder withinitself, there are special places that are awesomebeyond description. Seeing these adds newmajesty to the words “Creation of God.” Of all theplaces my wife and I have visited, our favorite sce-nic location is Yosemite Park. If there is anyonewho can view its grandeur without a feeling ofawe and humility, I cannot imagine such a person.

Basic Truth

15


As we observed the giant waterfall, the mountaingrandeur and the giant redwoods, we knew that wewere in the presence of God.

This Postulate is not meant to refer to the beautyof nature as a basis of Christian faith. Jesus Christ willalways be the only way of salvation, but the beauty ofnature is ours to ponder and enjoy. A poem by JoyceKilmer says it best: “Poems are made by fools like me,but only God can make a tree.” Amen.


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4THE OLD TESTAMENT TESTIFIES

ABOUT JESUS —John 5:39

The most basic proclamation of the Old Testa-ment is that the Lord of hosts one day would esta-blish His Kingdom on earth with justice andrighteousness forever by sending the Messiah toreign in peace. (Isaiah 9:6-7.)

The Jewish concept of the Messiah was not ful-filled in Jesus for at least two reasons: because Herefused to set up a worldly kingdom, (John 6:15)and because Jewish theology would not accept theMessiah as a servant.

The Christian concept is of a Spiritual Kingdom.Jesus was recognized by many because of His mir-acles, but the crowds mostly focused on their ownphysical benefits (John 6:26) and failed to see that,through the miracles, Jesus was demonstrating thelove and compassion of God and that He was theMessiah. The Acts of the Apostles and theDoctrinal letters of the New Testament confirmthat Jesus is the Messiah.

Basic Truth

17


He fulfilled prophesy when He identified theKingdom of God as being spiritual and, as such,universal in scope: Salvation is available to all whoprofess faith in Jesus Christ. Paul spoke of God’sjustice: Be not deceived; God will not be mockedfor whatsoever a man soweth, that he shall alsoreap. (Galatians 6:7) Discipleship is no longer aduty, it is our identity in response to Jesus Christ.

Isaiah 9:7 could not be fulfilled under the Lawof Moses because it requires spiritual interpreta-tion. Its meaning is in the teachings of Jesus Christ.(See John 4:24 and 14:26).


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5AND THE WORD WAS MADE FLESH,

AND DWELT AMONG US —John 1:14

His coming is the most important event in thehistory of mankind, and yet many ignore it, orhave never been told. Jesus manifested the truth ofGod because He is the Truth of God. Every prayer,every teaching, and every miracle is expressedthrough the medium of words. The mission of theHoly Spirit is to reveal the meaning of the words ofJesus, because Jesus is the key to all that Christian-ity encompasses. God is the Word, Jesus is the per-sonification of the Word, and the Holy Spirit is thepresence of the Word. When we study the Gospelsand New Testament Doctrine, we become awarethat they are written for us: that God’s Wordbelongs to us and that we belong to it.

The Apostle Paul understood that his ministrywas based on the words of Jesus although he nevermet Jesus in the flesh. He taught Timothy thatstudying the Word was essential to equip him forministry: Study to shew thyself approved untoGod, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed,

Basic Truth

19


rightly dividing the word of truth. (2 Timothy2:15.) All scripture is given by inspiration of God,and is profitable for Doctrine, for reproof, forcorrection, for instruction in righteousness.(2 Timothy 3:16.) Preach the word; be instant inseason, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhortwith all longsuffering and Doctrine. (2 Timothy4:2.) Take heed unto thyself, and unto the Doctrine;continue in them: for doing this thou shalt bothsave thyself, and them that hear thee. (1 Timothy

4:16.) This is why we also need toheed the Word of God and con-tinue in it.

Jesus acknowledged the TenCommandments and taught anew commandment that we should

love our neighbor as we love ourselves. (Mark12:30-31.) He also gave us the parable of the GoodSamaritan as an example of who our neighbor is.(Luke 10:30-37.) This parable is all-inclusive: ourneighbor is anyone that we meet, whether or notwe like his background. It is possible for us to loveeveryone we meet only if our nature reflects Hisnature.

Jesus refers to this transformation as being bornagain. It is a prerequisite to seeing the Kingdom of


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Our neighbor

is anyone thatwe meet.


God. (John 3:3.) The word “seeing” can be thoughtof as awareness. Until the Holy Spirit lives withinus, we can only know about Jesus. We cannot knowHim until our head knowledge becomes heartknowledge. It is then that all things become new.(2 Corinthians 5:17.) We have assurance of our sal-vation as our promise from God and we have theHoly Spirit as our gift from God.

There are three basic conversion experiences.First, there’s one like the Apostle Paul on the roadto Damascus. (Acts 9:3-6, 17-18.) The second is likethe prodigal son, (Luke 15:11-32) and the third islike the Timothy experience, which is steadygrowth in knowledge and dedication until theHoly Spirit becomes a reality in a person’s heart.(1 Tim 6:11.) Each of the three experiences has thesame result and differs only in how God speaksthrough the person to others. God is able througheach of these experiences, if we are willing, to useour special gift as an example for non-believersand to uphold the glory of God.

Salvation is our source of blessings and is theway of Abundant Life. Happiness is replaced by joyas our motivating force. We become aware that any-thing that can make us happy can also make us sad.

Basic Truth

21


When I was in high school, I bought a bicyclewith my paper route earnings ($3.00/wk). Thatbicycle was at the center of my happiness. Thenone day I let a friend learn how to ride on it. Helost control and crashed head first into a ditch. Hewasn’t hurt, but that wreck bent the bicycle’s forkand it took both hands, with white knuckles, tosteer it. I wanted to cry. My happiness became sad-ness through no fault of my own. All my life I havehad some kind of hobby as a source of happiness.These changed from a bicycle, to a horse, to a car,to a sailboat, and finally to a motorcycle. It wasalways changing, but the joy of my salvation hasnever changed. I found real meaning for life whenI became a Christian through faith in the Gospel ofSalvation which was made known because God’sWord became flesh in the person of Jesus Christ.


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6 GOD’S AUTHORITY IS VESTED

IN JESUS CHRIST —Matthew 28:18

It is a common rule that a person should neverbe given responsibility for some assignment with-out first being given the necessary authority toaccomplish it. So it was when God sent Jesus towitness His grace and truth. (John 1:17.) The peo-ple were astonished by His Doctrine for He spokeas one having authority. (Matthew 7:28-29.)

One expression of His authority was His heal-ing on the Sabbath in contrast to Jewish law.(Matthew 12:10-13.) He not only broke the law, Hedeclared that the Sabbath was made for man andnot vice versa. (Mark 2:27.) He also expanded thistruth to include anyone who wanted to respond tothe needs of others. (Matthew 12:12.) TeachingGod’s nature through the beatitudes is a secondexample: The poor in spirit shall receive the king-dom of heaven, those who mourn shall be com-forted, etc. (Matthew 5:3-12.)

Other examples of His authority can be seenwhen He said that the self-righteous would never

Basic Truth

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enter into the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 5:20),whoever is angry with his brother without a causeis in danger of the judgment (v. 22), a gift at thealtar is no substitute for reconciliation (vv. 23-24),and lust is the same as adultery (vv. 27-28).

And there are many others. In fact the Gospelsthemselves, are examples of God’s authority asvested in Jesus Christ. Pentecost is an example ofGod’s giving authority and boldness to theDisciples. (Acts 2:36.) This enabled them to be Hiswitnesses without fear, especially Peter. (Acts2:36.) Prior to Pentecost, Peter had three timesdenied that he even knew Jesus. (Lu 22:56-60.)

The lesson for us is that this same authority isours, enabling us to be His witnesses. Our oral wit-ness should include three basic parts: what kind ofperson I was before Jesus became a reality in myheart; when and how it happen; and how faith inJesus has changed my life. We can witness withauthority knowing that Jesus Christ, who calls us,is God’s authority to do so. (Matthew 28:18.)

If you have never been asked to give your per-sonal witness, I suggest that you put your witnessinto words and review it often. This will help


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avoid stage fright and enable you to be a betterwitness.

When preparing to be coordinator of a LayWitness Mission in Wheaton, Missouri, my wifeasked me if I shouldn’t bypass preparation andrely on the Holy Spirit. My response was “TheHoly Spirit is directing me to be prepared.” Evennow, when I am asked to pray aloud at a meeting,I think about what my prayer should include. Theneed is to be directed by the Holy Spirit, either atthe moment, or through prayer and meditationbefore hand.

Basic Truth

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7 JESUS INTRODUCED GOD’S GRACE

AND TRUTH —John 1:17

Ask any Christian if he would like to be judgedby his obedience to the Ten Commandments, or byhis own righteousness. His response will beNEVER! The truth is that we’re all sinners(Romans 3:23), but If we confess our sins, he isfaithful and just to forgive us our sins, and tocleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9.)This happens by God’s grace, which was notapparent in the Ten Commandments. God has notchanged, but man’s concept of God has changed.Grace is God’s expression of unmerited favor,which is directed to all men through faith in HisSon, Jesus Christ. Grace and truth are the essenceof God’s plan of salvation. Through faith, itbecomes apparent that Jesus is the way, the truth,and the life, and that grace is not the same as obe-dience under the law. (John 1:17.) Jesus Christ willmanifest Himself to us if we know His command-ments and keep them. (John 14:21.) This is how weidentify and live life abundantly.


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As a youth, I was taught to believe in the Biblewith no real distinction between the Old and NewTestaments. As I later read the Old Testament fromGenesis through Malachi, it bothered me thatsome writers depicted God as vengeful (Isaiah34:8), jealous (Deuteronomy 4:24), strict (Genesis2:17), and prejudicial (Exodus 3:10), not anythinglike Jesus identified and personified Him. It is mychoice to believe that Jesus Christ is the same yes-terday, and to day, and for ever (Hebrews 13:8)and that God and Jesus have always been one(John 1:1-2). A different dispensation infers thatGod has changed. But has He? Jesus taught …thewords that I speak unto you, they are spirit, andthey are life. (John 6:63)

The Old Testament has many teachings whichbeautifully parallel Christian Doctrine. It also con-tains excellent examples of God’s love and com-passion, such as David’s witness in Psalm 23, butCHRISTIANS SHOULD NEVER COMPROMISE THETEACHINGS AND MINISTRY OF JESUS CHRIST. Healone is the source of God’s grace and truth which isthe foundation of Christianity. For by grace are yesaved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it

Basic Truth

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is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any manshould boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9.)

Paul could write this scripture because he hadlived it. Only through the Grace of God could thevengeful Saul, with all his contempt for the Disciplesof Jesus Christ, be forgiven for his sinful nature andchosen to bring the message of salvation to theGentiles thru basic Christian Doctrine.

Saul’s conversion on the road to Damascus wasthe most dramatic, the most meaningful, and themost influential of anyone in the Bible, or in the worldfor that matter. Dramatic because Saul made a com-plete change from hate to love, meaningful becauseSaul became the Apostle Paul, and influential becauseof the impact of his evangelism. He started newChurches and taught Christian Doctrine through hisepistles to these new Churches in response to theirspiritual needs. His Doctrine was based wholly on themeaning of God’s love, which was theirs to experi-ence and witness through faith in Jesus Christ. All inall, his life was in response to the great commissionGo ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizingthem in the name of the Father, and of the Son, andof the Holy Spirit: Teaching them to observe allthings whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I


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am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.(Matthew 28:19-20.) The great commission in oneword: EVANGELISM.

The Apostle Paul’s witness: If any other manthinketh that he hath reasons for which he mighttrust in the flesh, I more: Circumcised the eighthday, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe ofBenjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touch-ing the law, a Pharisee; Concerning zeal perse-cuting the Church; touching the righteousnesswhich is the law, blameless. But what thingswere gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss forthe excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesusmy Lord; for whom I have suffered the loss of allthings, and do count them but dung, that I maywin Christ. (Philippians 3:4-8)

No man having put his hand to the plough,and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.(Luke 9:62.) I have no desire to be that man. Ibelieve that I have been given the truth of God,expressed as “Postulates,” in order to defineChristian faith through very simple scriptures. Itwas never meant to be complicated.

Basic Truth

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8 THE HOLY SPIRIT WAS NOT YET

GIVEN BECAUSE JESUS WAS NOT YETGLORIFIED

—John 7:39

Living in response to the Ten Commandmentsdefined both righteousness and sin for the Hebrewnation. Their interpretation of justice was adminis-tered through the letter of the Law, failing to rec-ognize its spiritual meaning. (John 6:63)

Living in response to the Holy Spirit is person-ification of salvation and abundant life. It is theHoly Spirit’s mission to glorify Jesus throughrevealing and interpreting the truth of this min-istry. (John 16:13-14)

There have been times in my life when Ineeded clarification of some scripture. Example:“O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you...”?The Holy Spirit then directed me to Acts 15:1, Andcertain men which came down from Judea taughtthe brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcisedafter the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.These men were influenced by James, who wasn’twilling to free the new converts from responsibil-


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ity under the Law of Moses. See Acts 21:20-24. Thisattitude of James later results in Paul’s arrest with-out any support from the Jerusalem Church (Acts21:27-30). Paul was never again to be free to con-tinue his ministry of evangelism to the Gentiles.Although the Holy Spirit’s influence in the lives ofPaul, Barnabas, and the others, was alive and well,some of the early converts were Judeo Christianswith Judaism as their controlling belief.

Basic Truth

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9GOD IS SPIRIT AND MUST BE WORSHIPED IN SPIRIT AND

IN TRUTH —John 4:24

If God’s will includes using our talents, He willmake it known and inspire us to respond. We arethe physical vessels for doing His will. God hasmade a place for us and has beautifully equippedus to live within it. And we know that all thingswork for good for those who love God, to themwho are the called according to his purpose.(Romans 8:28.)

I have been blessed many times when I lookback on some trauma in my life. I sincerely believethat none of life’s experiences, whether good orbad, are ever wasted. When I feel the presence ofGod, I know that I can seek and find His direction.The Bible is the living Word of God, not because ofits eloquence of words, but because it was writtenby His inspiration. God wants to live His life inJesus Christ through you and me. This is only pos-sible because God is Spirit and is everywhere andalways there for us.


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10I AM NOT COME TO DESTROY THE

LAW, OR THE PROPHETS; BUT TO FULFILL.

—Matthew 5:17

Matthew is the Gospel that, more than anyother, ties Jesus to the Old Testament prophesies.Early in his Gospel he quotedJesus as saying that He had cometo fulfill the law and the prophets,not to destroy them. What doesthat mean? It doesn’t mean obey-ing the Jewish interpretation ofkeeping the Sabbath holy, becauseHe healed on the Sabbath.(Matthew 10:12-13) Also, Jesusquoted some Old Testamentscriptures and gave true meaning to others. (Matt5:21-44) Its meaning is included in the Doctrine ofthe Apostle Paul’s letter to the Galatian Churches.For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even inthis; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.(Galatians 5:14) This simplifies fulfilling the law.The love spoken of is not brotherly love, or familylove. He is referring to the love of God as Jesus per-

Basic Truth

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For all the lawis fulfilled in

one word, evenin this; Thoushalt love thy neighbour as

thyself.


sonified and taught it. For if ye love them whichlove you, what thank have ye? for sinners also doeven the same. (Luke 6:32.)

So it is that God’s nature is revealed throughthe Gospel of Salvation, the Doctrinal letters of theNew Testament, and through spiritual interpreta-tion of the Law and Prophets. When understoodthrough the Holy Spirit, the meaning of the Bible issummarized in 1 John 4:8 which includes the sim-ple truth: GOD IS LOVE. AMEN


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Way of Salvation


11FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD

THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTENSON, THAT WHOSOEVER BELIEVETHIN HIM SHOULD NOT PERISH, BUT

HAVE ETERNAL LIFE. —John 3:16

To me, this can be seen as the beginning andend of Christianity. It begins with faith in Jesus,and ends with eternal life. “Whosoever” includesyou and me. The Gospel of Salvation, which Jesuspresented, is our source of meaning for life itself,not just the highs, but the lows as well. We soonlearn that Christianity does not free us from prob-lems, but that it enables us to put problems in per-spective, set them aside, and rely on God’s Word.Faith identifies joy, not happiness, as the fruit ofthe Holy Spirit.

When I was fourteen years old, I had a swim-ming accident. I dived into shallow water and hitan open tin can that partially laid my scalp open.When I walked to where my dad was working, I’msure that seeing the blood pouring down my facealmost scared him to death. As I was lying on a


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couch in one of the sawmill buildings, I could hearthe onlookers saying, “I don’t think he’ll make it.”I remember closing my eyes, without fear, and say-ing to myself, “I’ll see what this is all about.” I laterknew that my faith was the source of my peace. Iknew that, either way, the Lord was with me. Ihave recalled that moment many times.

In order for us to live life as a victory over fearand doubt, it is necessary for us to consider deaththrough the assurance of our faith. Having doneso, we can enjoy life and all its potential blessings.Again John 3:16 opens the door to the totalChristian experience, which is ours until deathunites us with our Lord, Jesus Christ. CHRISTIANFAITH IS THE POSITIVE THAT OUTWEIGHS ALLNEGATIVES.

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Wa y o f S a l va t i o n


12THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN HAS BEEN

PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO SERVE OTHERS

—Matthew 25:34-36

The key to the blessings from service to thosein need is self-denial. When a politician showspublic affection for a little child, what is hismotive? When a wealthy man donates money tobuy a park if it bears his name, where is self-denial? When someone visits a sick personthrough a feeling of responsibility how can this bea Christian witness? Without the love of Jesus asits motive, there can be no christian witness.

When we have been part of weekend missions,Saturday from 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. is known asfree time. It’s during this time that volunteer mis-sioners visit the congregation’s sick and shut-ins.At first, we would avoid visitations in favor of see-ing the town, or just relaxing. Then one day, therewas a shortage of visitors and so we felt obliged tofill in. Once we were in their homes, we began torecognize a kindred spirit with them. As we beganto share, we realized that we were where God


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would have us be. No longer do we need to beasked to do visitation, we volunteer wholeheart-edly. This is but one example of how we can wit-ness our faith through service to others.

Mitze’s letter is another example of how Godcan use a simple act of love and compassion in apowerful way. My harmonica playing, such as it is,may well have been a harp from heaven because itbrought a smile to a dying man’s face and a songfrom his heart. Praise The Lord!

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13AND THAT REPENTANCE OF SINS

SHOULD BE PREACHED IN HIS NAMEAMONG ALL THE NATIONS, BEGIN-

NING IN JERUSALEM —Luke 24:47

This scripture defines the reason for all of thesepostulates. The time is fulfilled, and theKingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, andbelieve the Gospel. (Mark 1:15.) This is the firstteaching of Jesus in the Gospel of Mark and, exceptfor His promise that they would be endued withpower (at Pentecost) this was His last teaching inthe Gospel of Luke. This is our call to Christianservice. We see the influence of personal witness-ing as very close to that of preaching. The primarydifference is that witnessing can inspire a non-believer to seek Christian faith because of itsimpact in the life of the witness, whereas preach-ing is the primary source of Christian faith beingshared by the witness. (1 Corinthians 15:11)

Personal testimony, whether formal or casual,is the most meaningful way that we have to shareChristian love with others.


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14A PERSON MUST BE BORN AGAIN TO

SEE THE KINGDOM OF GOD —John 3:3

My family moved from my dad’s sawmill siteto the little town of Atoka in southeasternOklahoma when I was five years old. It was myfirst time to attend Sunday School and Church. Foreight years, I heard the Gospel of Salvationpreached and stories of the Old and NewTestaments being taught. I learned to love Jesusand knew that He wanted me to accept Him as thesource of meaning and direction for my life and tobe baptized into His Church. What was missing?My need was for repentance (Mark 1:15) and forpublic profession of faith in Jesus Christ (Matthew10:32). Why become a Christian if it didn’t mean anew way of life, and how could there be a newway of life without overcoming the old? Repen-tance and profession of faith in Jesus Christ are thebasis of salvation and, as such, are not optional. Iunderstood all of this, but I was reluctant to makeit happen.

Way of Salvation

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Then one Sunday, our preacher told a parableabout an old shepherd, his old sheep dog, and hisflock of one hundred sheep. There was a terrificblizzard which caused the sheep to be scattered.The old dog knew what his master wanted him todo, so he left the warmth and security of his fire-side bed and went in search of the lost sheep. Hesoon came back bringing most of the sheep tosafety. When the shepherd motioned to the dogthat there were still some lost sheep, the dog againleft his fireside bed and went to search for them.After several hours, the dog returned with all butone of the sheep and lay down in his warm bed.When his master indicated to him that there wasstill one lost sheep, the old dog again left his warmbed in search of the lost sheep. After a long timehad passed, the old dog returned bringing the lostsheep. He then lay down in front of the fireplaceand died.

I saw myself as the lost sheep for whom Jesusdied and I was at the altar before I knew it. As theHoly Spirit entered my heart, a spirit of joy that Ihad never known accompanied Him. I wanted tohug everyone and felt like I could walk withouttouching the floor. It was the most wonderful day


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of my life and I knew that my nature had beenborn again into His nature.

I felt secure in my salvation and I was ready toget on with my life. I attended Sunday School andChurch regularly and yet I was guilty of self-indul-gence, not realizing that I was setting aside the joyof my salvation in favor of worldly pleasure. (I wastrading pure gold for fool’s gold.) What a big mis-take that was!

My teenage years were similar to the parable ofthe Prodigal Son. (Luke 15:12-13) The word“prodigal” means wasteful. I certainly had no for-tune to waste, but I did waste many opportunitiesto witness the joy of my Salvation. I praise theLord for making me aware that joy, not happiness,is the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Reverend DonWilliams would challenge everyone to say eitherAMEN! Or OH ME!


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15IN YOUR PATIENCE, POSSESS YE

YOUR SOULS —Luke 21:19

This scripture refers to our need for persever-ance. As disciples, we must be ready to face con-frontations and disappointments without becomingdiscouraged. There will be times when our witnesswill be ignored, or faced with contempt. Some-times, someone will try to make a person seemfoolish for believing in Jesus, “That faith is for chil-dren.” When I think that many of the early chris-tians paid with their lives rather than denounceJesus Christ, I know that perseverance, for me, isonly a token of what it was for them.

When I read what Jesus taught, it is as if Hewere speaking to me. His temptation in the wilder-ness (Matthew 4:1-11) taught me that Christianprinciples should control my daily decisions andthat my witness should never yield to any form ofnegative response from others.


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Christian Doctrine


16IF WE ARE FAITHFUL IN VERY LITTLE,

WE WILL BE GIVEN AUTHORITY OVER VERY MUCH

—Luke 19:17

Simple acts of kindness in His name willbecome stepping-stones toward becoming a fullydedicated disciple of Jesus Christ. In my case, Ihave come to know that Jesus can love othersthrough me and I enjoy being part of it. This is ablessing that is available to every Christian. Itbegins at home.

Deloris and I still have some disagreements,which might have been major confrontationsbefore the meaning of Christian faith became thesame to both of us. Because our Christian back-grounds were different, and knowing that wewanted to go to Church together, we chose to joinher father’s Church. I’m glad to say that we are onein Christ. This allows us to grow through Christianfaith and increases the scope of our commitment tobe His disciples.


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17ABUNDANT LIFE IS FOUND IN JESUS

—John 10:10

At the same time that Jesus teaches us that Heis the source of Abundant Life, He teaches that aman’s life consisteth not in the abundance of thethings which he possesseth. (Luke 12:15.) Betweenthese two teachings, which are equally important,is found the realism of Christianity. In these, Jesusteaches what abundant life is, and what it is not.

Abundant life includes becoming disciples ofJesus Christ through studying for knowledge,praying for discernment, and forself-denial in sharing our faith.Knowledge tells us what weshould share, prayer directs ushow to share, and self-denialenables us to rightfully share.While the Fruit of the HolySpirit is the evidence of abun-dant life, knowledge, prayer, and self-denial aremeans for obtaining it. Sharing God’s love,through acts of love and mercy, is the way of main-taining it. Through witnessing the Fruit of the

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C h r i s t i a n D o c t r i n e

Jesus teaches what

abundant life is,and what it

is not.


Holy Spirit as evidence of abundant life, we secureit; through witnessing possessions as evidence ofabundant life, we miss it. God, as Spirit, deniespossessions as abundant life because Jesus mani-fested God’s love through servitude.

God’s spiritual gifts are the basis of His func-tional gifts, which includes preachers, prophets,teachers, miracle workers, healers, helpers, andadministrators, plus speakers and interpreters oftongues. (1 Corinthians 12:28) The Apostle Paultells us to earnestly desire the best functional gifts,but that none have any value without the love ofGod as their basis.


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18SIN AND PHYSICAL CONDITION

DO NOT EQUATE —John 9:2-3

The Book of Job is perhaps the source of theattitude of many who believe that sickness is theevidence of sin. I believe that this is the viewpointthat Jesus meant to correct through His response inJohn 9:2-3. To me, the sad thing is that someChristians will tell another Christian, who is sick,that he needs to repent of his sins that caused hissickness, in order to enable God to heal him. Thisis surely thin ice, because righteous people diefrom the same diseases from which non-believersrecover.

Some conditions, such as alcoholism, lung can-cer resulting from smoking, and blood diseasesresulting from sexual relations, are sins that willadversely impact the health of new born babies.These conditions become more frequent as timegoes on because we have become permissivewhere such conditions exist. In general, our physi-cal well being is a result of our physical activities

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with a plus or minus for our Spiritual condition:joy is a plus, gloom is a minus. My experience invisiting Christians who are sick and shut-in has, inall but a few cases, been a blessing because theiroutlook on life is full of love, joy, and peace. Theirphysical condition is, in no way, a sign of condem-nation or punishment for sins. In some ways theircondition brings them closer to the Lord becausethey don’t have many worldly distractions.

The joy that I received when I became aChristian has been mine until now, with oneexception. When I left my home and hometownChurch to go to college, I stopped going to Church.I can’t remember if I didn’t feel comfortable withthe preaching, or if I didn’t feel welcome, or ifthese were just excuses to sleep in. I did, however,think that it would be all right because I lovedJesus and I loved people. Right? Wrong! It was thedumbest thing that I had ever done.

I developed a deep-seated case of the blueswhich I know now was depression, and nothing Idid was able to relieve my feeling of remorse. Thenone Sunday a friend asked me to go to Churchwith him and I agreed to go. The minute I openedthat Church door and heard the organ playing, the


50


joy of my salvation returned and my depressionwas gone in a heartbeat. Jesus had not forsakenme, I had forsaken Him.

God’s grace was so apparent that I vowed Iwould never again stop going to Church. Delorishas joined me in keeping this promise. In the AirForce in England, it meant driving back to R. A. F.Brize Norton Base from twelvemiles away, in Aspen, Colorado, itmeant leaving the ski slopes andgoing into town, and at MagazineMountain, Arkansas, it oncemeant a trip back to Tulsa to teachmy Sunday School class, thenreturn to finish my campout with family andfriends.

I can witness that sin caused my depressionand I can also witness that obedience restored myjoy. Although sin and physical condition do notequate, sin and spiritual condition do.


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My depression was

gone in aheartbeat.


19THE PEACE OF GOD IS NOT TO BE

FOUND THROUGH WORLDLY GAIN —John 14:27

Love, joy, and peace are the heart ofChristianity. God’s love is the basis of joy andpeace. Joy is God’s blessing in response to disci-pleship. Peace is the state of mind derived from,and a reflection of, love and joy. Love, joy, andpeace are witnessed through long-suffering, gen-tleness, goodness, faith, meekness and self-control.(Galatians 5:22-23.) Thus, we see that peace, as areflection of all that is the fruit of the Holy Spirit,has no basis in worldliness. Peace is a result ofdeep-seated faith and trust in God’s love and thatperfect love casteth out fear. (1 John 4:18.)Unshakeable peace may well be the most constantreflection of Christianity.

As a building contractor, my peace of mindwas interrupted many times by unexpected trau-matic situations. My immediate response, withoutthinking, was usually an unguarded worldlyexpression such as the “s” word. These situationsexposed my human nature, much to my regret. I


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knew that, although it was not demeaning God, itcertainly was not upholding Jesus as Lord, becauseit was a negative witness.

I have been truly blessed in my life because thepeace of God has always been there for me whenfacing life-threatening situations. It’s because Ihave time to put my life into perspective throughJohn 3:16, knowing that outcroppings of myhuman nature have been forgiven through theGrace of God. Praise The Lord.


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20FOR WHERE YOUR TREASURE IS,

THERE WILL YOUR HEART BE ALSO—Luke 12:34

Jesus is telling the disciples to seek theKingdom of God and entrust their needs to Him. Itwas the desire of Jesus for them, knowing that theywere vulnerable to worldliness as much as we aretoday. Unless our faith is our guiding light, ourpath becomes hard to follow. Unless Jesus is oursavior, we need the Ten Commandments to directus. Many Christians seem interested in unitingOld Testament Theology with the New TestamentGospels and Christian Doctrine. Jesus tells us veryclearly not to put new wine into old wine skins,else the wine skins break and the wine is wasted.This teaching is in three of the four New TestamentGospels: Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The Gospel ofJohn makes it clear that Jesus, not Moses, is thesource of God’s grace and truth, which is the foun-dation of Christianity. (John 1:17.)

There was a time in my life when I racedmotorcycles cross-country in what are calledEnduros. Enduros are designed to be ridden


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through all types of terrain at a fixed speed, usu-ally 24 miles per hour, with unknown checkpointlocations. A rider’s time of arrival was recordedwith a penalty for being late, or early. It’s not sup-posed to be a race, but it turns into one in mostcases because the courses are so tough. The lengthof the course is usually 100 miles or more. Thegranddaddy of all Enduros is a 500-mile, two-dayevent in Michigan. Once was enough for me tocompete in it.

Motorcycle competition was my hobby for fiveyears. My neighbor and I went together to my firstEnduro, it was his second. Whereas I was disqual-ified for missing a checkpoint, my neighbor won atrophy. Then my young son asked, “What did youwin, dad?” His disappointment in me changedEnduro competition from a hobby to a passion. Itqualified as my treasure, at that time, because win-ning my son a trophy was where my heart was. Inmy second Enduro, I did win my first trophy.Handing that trophy to Dean was certainly a high-light in my life knowing that he was going to beproud of his dad. Motorcycle competition thenreverted to being my hobby.


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I have won many trophies which were impor-tant at the time, but are now collecting dust on ashelf in our garage. This story is meant only toshow how some worldly goals can become ourfirst priority (where our heart is). I know thatmotorcycles are not for everyone and I surely don’tmean to be promoting them.


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21WHEN WE PRAY, WE SHOULD NEVER

USE VAIN REPETITIONS FOR OURFATHER KNOWS WHAT THINGS WE

HAVE NEED OF, BEFORE WE ASK—Matthew 6:7-8

This seems to negate “pray without ceasing.”So how should we pray? To me, Matthew’s teach-ing is how to pray when we are asking God to pro-vide for us. To this end, Jesus gives us the Lord’sPrayer. (Matthew 6:9-13.) Our need is first to hal-low the Father’s name and pray that His will, notour own, be done. Only one thing is asked for—our daily bread. Next, Jesus directs us to pray forGod’s forgiveness for our trespasses, as we forgiveothers. (If we believe in forgiveness, our livesshould be our witness.) Our need to be deliveredfrom evil is contingent upon to what extent wemanifest the Gospel truth in our lives. Throughservitude to the glory of God, we can shut the gateon evil. In conclusion, we pray the Lord’s Prayerbecause we know that God’s is the Kingdom, andthe power, and the glory forever and our prayer isto be included within it. AMEN!


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“Pray without ceasing” can be seen as instruc-tion for us when praying for others. The overallhope of all of my prayers is that my will and God’swill are the same. Whether God’s timing and mytiming are the same, or not, I know that prayingbrings me near to God. Because of this, I know thatmy first response to the needs of others is to prayfor them.

I want to share with you the story of a manwhose wife prayed for him for many years that hislife would be transformed through faith in JesusChrist. She honored her wedding vows, eventhough it meant almost constant grief because herhusband was a hopeless alcoholic: hopeless with-out God’s answer to her diligent prayers for him.

Ernie Cline would spend his every paycheckgetting drunk then bring what was leftover to hiswife to care for their family’s needs. One day Erniewrecked his truck and was pinned under it. Hecould smell gasoline and knew that a spark of anykind would cause the truck to explode. Ernie’s lifeflashed before his eyes and he began to repent andask God for a second chance. He made a vow that,if his life were spared, he would quit drinking anddevote his life to his family and to being a


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non-wavering witness for Jesus Christ at everyopportunity. This was Ernie’s testimony which heshared with me in my office where he had come asa sales representative for a concrete admix.

Ernie wanted to tell me of an event in an archi-tect’s office where he had gone to promote his con-crete admix. The architect liked his presentationand agreed to specify his product in a large project,the plans for which were almost completed. Hethen reached into his desk drawer and took out abottle of whiskey and two glasses. When he toldthe architect that he could not drink with him, thearchitect took Ernie’s refusal as an insult, “If you’retoo good to drink with me, you can forget this sale,and you need not call again.” With this, he toldErnie to get out of his office. As Ernie was drivingback to Tulsa, his sadness gave way to joy as herecalled how much the Lord had blessed his lifesince his accident. He knew that selling oftenresulted in rejection and that he had lost only a lit-tle time and gasoline.

As Ernie entered his home, which he also usedas his office, the telephone was ringing. It was thearchitect wanting to apologize. “Ernie, I wish I hadyour faith. I’ll not only specify your admix for all


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the concrete on this project, I will specify it for allmy future jobs.”

This is one example of happiness and joyblending as one; Ernie was happy because of theadmix sale and he was joyful because of the Lord’svictory through his unwavering Christian witness.His wife, who had prayed without ceasing forErnie for many years, shared this wonderful expe-rience with him. Thank you, Jesus.

My prayer life includes concern for our mili-tary confrontations, our combat forces, and ourway of life. I also have a special burden for theunsaved and for those who are addicted to ciga-rettes, drugs, and over indulgencies. These, plusuplifting my family and friends, make up myprayer life. At times, some of these become pray-ing without ceasing until I feel at peace, but mostlymy prayer life is responsive meditation and ongo-ing thankfulness and praise to God.


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22YE KNOW NOT WHAT SPIRIT

YE ARE OF—Luke 9:55

This refers to the Disciples’ asking Jesus if Hewanted to bring down fire from heaven to destroya city whose citizens had deniedthem entry. Jesus’ answer to themand His message to us today isthat Christian love is forgiveness,not retaliation. This is but oneevidence of our need to be born again. Jesus wasteaching that we should look for spiritual, notworldly answers to our life’s experiences.

Genesis 19:24 tells us that the wrath of Goddestroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. I cannot imagineJesus as being full of wrath. Has the Holy Spiritchanged per Luke 9:54-55, or is the story of Sodomand Gomorrah meant to be spiritually, not literallyinterpreted? Think on it.

Physical death does not pay a person’s sindebt. Heaven, or hell will be his final judgment.AMEN! OR OH ME?


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Christian loveis forgiveness,not retaliation.


23GOD HATH SET SOME IN THE

CHURCH: FIRST APOSTLES —1 Corinthians 12:28

The significance of this verse is based on itssource. No man can say that Jesus is Lord, but bythe Holy Spirit. Now there are diversities of Gifts,but the same spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:3-4.) Apostles(preachers) are considered head of the Churchbecause it is through preaching that the Gospel ofSalvation is presented. (Romans 10:14-15.) Apreacher can say that he is called of God when herecognizes that preaching is his gift from God.

So much of the growth, or decline, ofProtestant Churches is due to the effectiveness oftheir pastors. This is why pastors are so important.Not only does the Holy Spirit reach non-believersthrough preaching, but also through a preacher’srelating the love of God in hospitals, in nursinghomes, and in the homes of the sick and lonelymembers of his Church. This is where a preacherbecomes a pastor. These are perhaps the easiest ofa preacher’s many hats to identify, but know that apreacher’s total life, as head of the Church, is


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meant to be a reflection of the ministry of JesusChrist.

Another example is a preacher’s wisdom seenthrough his decisions which affect the physicalwell being of his Church. In forty years of con-struction, I have experienced only one contract forwhich the bank’s loan was not sufficient to finishthe project. This could have been a very traumaticsituation if not for the wisdom the pastor EmileHawkins, whom I love and respect very highly. Hesuggested that his Church make an ongoingweekly payment to my company in lieu of thelump sum that was due. Not only did this agree-ment establish the Church’s ability and integrity tomake timely payments, it reduced the amount ofthe debt. As a result, another bank signed a newcontract with the Church and paid the first bank’sloan and my contract in full. I believe, without anydoubt, that the Holy Spirit inspired the pastor’sdecision. Praise The Lord.


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24A PERSON’S OBEDIENCE IS PROOF OFTHE LORDSHIP OF JESUS IN HIS LIFE.

—Luke 6:47-48

We are now addressing acts of love and mercy,which we do in His name because He is Lord of our lives.There are too many times when I have let somethingworldly be Lord of my life. This is true when I realize thatI had missed a chance to witness for the Lord because Iwas engrossed in some worldly situation. Sometimes it’sbecause I react to some unexpected problem in a worldlyway. Long suffering (patience) is the fruit of the HolySpirit that seems to elude me. I forget to count to tenbefore reacting.

Because my Christian experience has been like thatof the Prodigal Son, my life has a lot of suppressedgarbage in it. I never let it influence my thinking, but Ican’t say that it never influences my response to unex-pected trauma.

Getting involved in worldly endeavors competes fortime with Christ and a negative witness may follow. Oneexample of a negative witness is seen in sports. Even inlittle league baseball, I have seen Christian parentsbecome irate with the coach over their son’s


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amount of playing time, or over an umpire’s call,which went against their team, especially if theirson was involved. The Christian attitude shouldfocus on sports the same as on life itself; “ it’s howwe play the game that matters.” In sports our teammay lose, but it doesn’t mean that Christians are, inany way, justified to be a negative witness forChrist by losing their composure. If they do, it isevident that the peace of God has been squelchedby their human nature. As Rosie told Mr. Alnut in“The African Queen” movie. “Nature is whatwe’re here to rise above.”

There are several different Spiritual RenewalMinistries conducted by laymen. Our experiencehas been with the one known as Lay WitnessMission (LWM). Being part of this ministry is oneof our greatest joys because it allows Deloris andme to dedicate a special weekend to sharing andwitnessing our faith. It also allows us to renewfriendships with members of a LWM team, whoare very special people to us. It includes develop-ing a close personal relationship with our hostfamily and with members of the Church and theirpastor. We realize that we receive more than wegive, but seeing the spiritual renewal within


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the Church, through the LWM, is confirmationenough that the Holy Spirit was present with us.

The Lay Witness Mission is a weekend pro-gram requested by a local Church. It involves acoordinator who invites the team members andconducts the mission. The Church will have a localcoordinator who will see that correspondence,meals, housing, etc. for the LWM team are provided.Otherwise, team members come at their ownexpense. They are called missioners instead of mis-sionaries because they do not preach. The purposeof the LWM is spiritual revival within the localChurch. I have never seen it fail.


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25GREATER LOVE HAS NO MAN THAN

TO LAY DOWN HIS LIFE FOR HIS FRIENDS

—John 15:13

I believe that laying down our life means dyingto self; saying “No” to personal gratification infavor of doing His will. As we submit to His will,we come to realize that His will and our will growcloser to being the same. We begin to forget thehappiness of self-indulgence and uphold the joy ofself-sacrifice (laying our lives down).

Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit thekingdom prepared for you from the foundationof the world. (Matthew 25:34-36.) This puts the“how” into Christian discipleship.

1. Feed the hungry2. Give drink to the thirsty3. Welcome the stranger4. Give clothing to those in need5. Visit the sick (and shut-ins)6. Respond to a jail ministry if given the

opportunity


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We respond to most of these ministries throughour Church. Sometimes it’s as a committee mem-ber, sometimes it’s through the Church’s foodbank. Other times it is through our personal wit-ness aside from our Church. The Old Testamenttells us that God’s Word will not come back void.(Isaiah 55:11), but if we witness as a means of per-sonal acclaim, personal acclaim will be ourreward. (Matthew 6:2)

One lady, named Ethel, had her life trans-formed by the Holy Spirit through the impact of aLay Witness Mission. She then shared that she hadalways been admired as a good person and thatshe maintained her good person lifestyle becauseof the praise of others. After her conversion expe-rience, at the age of approximately seventy years,her motivation changed from the pretense of good-ness to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. What apowerful witness she became.


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26WITH GOD ALL THINGS ARE

POSSIBLE —Matthew 19:26

This scripture refers to the probability of a richman’s entering into the Kingdom of God.(Matthew 19:24.) If we consider that the SpiritualKingdom of God is within us, we can see the pos-sibility of a change of heart wherein the rich manis to share his wealth with others. The love ofmoney is the root of all evil. (1 Timothy 6:10.) Thisscripture puts money into perspective. Like any-thing that we have, it should never become ourfirst love: our first love is reserved for God. If a richman’s contribution to the support his Church isproportional to his income, both he and hisChurch will be blessed. If not, both will suffer, butmostly the rich man.


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27IF YE LOVE ME, FEED MY SHEEP

—John 21:15

Three times Jesus asked Peter: Simon, son ofJonas, lovest thou me? The first two times, Peteranswered a simple Yes Lord; thou knowest that Ilove thee, but the third time Peter became grievedand responded, Lord, thou knowest all things;thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus said to him,feed my sheep.

I have heard much speculation as to why Jesusasked Peter the same question three times andgave him the same challenge three times. One ideawas that Peter was given three chances to professhis love for Jesus because he had three timesdenied knowing Jesus during His trial. Another isthat, since Peter was to be spiritual head of thebody of Christ, Jesus wanted to make an indelibleimpression of how to express His love. TheChurch, both then as now, is based on His love forus and our developing a steadfast love for Himand caring for others.

The impact of Christ’s Church will dependupon how well it feeds the sheep. Preaching the


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Gospel of Salvation is the Church’s main calling.This includes winning the lost as well as makingdisciples of its members. And other sheep I have,which are not of this fold: them also I must bring.(John 10:16.) I once thought of gentiles as the othersheep. A Mormon once quoted thisscripture in their behalf, but “allnations” (Matthew 28:19) has nolimits. When I was in first gradeSunday School class, we learned asimple little song, “Red and yellow,black and white, they are precious inHis sight.” How easy to believe, how difficult tofollow. If we love the Lord, it is our calling torespond to the needs of others, as a good shepherdresponds to the needs of his flock.


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It is our calling to“feed thesheep.”


28MY YOKE IS EASY AND MY BURDEN

IS LIGHT —Matthew 11:11

His yoke refers to our special spiritual gift(s)from God, enabling us to become disciples of JesusChrist. His burden would then be the scope of ourbasic area in which to serve, recognizing that thereare no overall area limits. Developing and usingour special gift(s) requires commitment of ourtime: time that would otherwise be devoted toself- gratification in some form.

I began teaching Sunday School because I wasasked to, but my teaching “yoke” became lightwith no burden at all, because I began to loveteaching. I began to realize that teaching was a spe-cial gift from God. Confirmation came throughseeing the impact of God’s Word in the lives of theclass members, especially when I was teachingteenagers. As a LWM member, I have witnessedmy faith in more than 100 Churches in towns fromTennessee to old Mexico, including a trip toRussia. A BURDEN? NO! A BLESSING? YES!


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29NO MAN CAN SERVE TWO MASTERS

—Matthew 6:24

I know that I once was confused as to how thisscripture applied to me. I believe it, but I thoughtthat it meant total commitment and I knew that Iwas committed to Christ. I can see now that I wasmaking a split decision between worldliness andGodliness, as a teenager. I was yielding to tempta-tion instead of maturing in faith. It wasn’t untilJesus cured my depression during my first year ofcollege, that I was able to see how stupid I hadbeen. I was thinking that I could retain the joy ofmy Christian faith without attending Church. Noway! (see p. 50)

Today I have very little interest in worldliness.My wife and I enjoy college sports, but we rarelylet it keep us away from Sunday School andChurch. Charities, missions, and visitations arestill part of our Christian witness. Serving twomasters can be compared to sin; we’re all guilty tosome extent, but neither sinful, nor worldly is ouroverall identity. Praise The Lord.


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30THE LEAST IN THE KINGDOM OF

HEAVEN IS GREATER THAN JOHN THE BAPTIST

—Matthew 11:1

This is not a teaching of Jesus that I have everheard in a sermon. It has always been important tome because it defines the difference between thelaw and grace: between the best Old Testamentprophet and the least in the Kingdom of Heaven.This Scripture puts John the Baptist on par withAbraham, Moses, and Samuel. What a revelation!

John the Baptist was relentless in his preachingof repentance as the need of a sinful people and inupholding baptism as evidence of repentance. Herecognized the divine nature of Jesus at His bap-tism, but he was neither able to share God’s Graceand Truth, nor to preach profession of faith inJesus Christ as the way of Salvation.

All born again Christians have experiencedGod’s Grace and Truth and have God’s promise ofeternal life through faith in Jesus Christ.


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31THE OLD TESTAMENT HAS VALUE

LIKE A SCHOOLMASTER TO BRING USTO CHRIST THAT WE MAY BE JUSTI-FIED BY FAITH. BUT AFTER FAITH IS

COME, WE ARE NO LONGER UNDER ASCHOOLMASTER.

—Galatians 3:24-25

It is one of the easiest of the postulates for meto accept as Christian Doctrine because I haveexperienced the law’s direction and protection,and have been freed from dependence upon it.One time some friends, who had been stealingpop from a man’s truck at night, coaxed me intojoining them. I knew that it was not right, butnone-the-less I did it. Don’t you know that wewere caught and had to go before a city official,who was a member of my Church. Woe was I untilI began to pray, acknowledging that I had brokenone of the commandments. As I asked for forgive-ness, I not only felt forgiven, I knew that I had beenfreed from the burden of unconfessed sin. I nowknow that I was blessed through the whole experi-ence.


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The Old Testament, like a schoolmaster, taughtme not to steal. (Deuteronomy 5:19.) Because I dis-obeyed, I had to face the consequence. It is the pur-pose of law enforcement to identify those whobreak the law and take them into custody. It is thepurpose of the judicial system to prosecute theoffenders and/or redirect their lives.

The problem with our judicial system is that itdoesn’t always change a person’s attitude towardcrime. Too many times parolees repeat the sameoffenses that sent them to prison. They seem to bedissatisfied with their status in life. In order to sat-isfy their “wants,” they will revert to the samecrimes that caused their prison time. Their’s is analmost hopeless case if their “wants” are based ondrug addiction. It’s too late to raise them asChristians with an attitude of love that denouncescrime, but it’s never too late for their lives to betransformed through faith in Jesus Christ. It’s thesame faith that caused the Apostle Paul to write,Not that I speak in respect of want: for I havelearned, in whatever state I am, therewith to becontent. (Philippians 4:11.) This is the Scripturethat exposes the criminal’s inability to live withinthe law. He is unwilling to live within the lifestyle


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that he has made for himself and he is unwilling tomake the sacrifice necessary to upgrade it. Theanswer to stopping crime is to change the crimi-nal’s attitude toward the rights of others, or toteach him respect for the law through the severityand quickness of his punishment. The Apostle Paulconcluded that the law was made for the lawless. (1Timothy 1:9) In my case, the law punished myattempt to steal pop, but it was the Holy Spirit, notfear of the law, that freed me from my “want to.”

When I think of schoolmaster, I think of disci-pline. The strictest discipline of all was whenAdam and Eve were put out of the Garden of Edenfor failure to trust and obey God. (Genesis 3:23.)An example of God’s protection is when Davidslew Goliath and averted a war. (1 Samuel 17:49-51.) The greatest of all of God’s directions are theTen Commandments. (Deuteronomy 5:7-21.) Thekey to all that we are as Christians is found in theconclusion to this Postulate: But after faith iscome, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.Praise The Lord.


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32CHRISTIAN LOVE EXTENDS BEYOND

FAMILY LOVE —Luke 6:32

This is one of the hardest postulates of theChristian faith to follow because the truth canoften deny family loyalty. Mothers, especially, tendto be like hens protecting their chicks, but theChristian passion for truth denies blind loyaltywithin our families. We must remember that lov-ing others, as ourselves, includes persons outsideof our family circle. If we need a reminder, theparable of the Good Samaritan makes it perfectlyclear. (Luke 10:30-37.) Christian love should seekonly the truth as the basis of evaluating humanrelations. We should express faith in our familymembers and want to believe that the truth willalways uphold their position, but we should neverignore the truth because a family member isinvolved.

One problem is that our love of family and ourlove of God are viewed as the same by many fam-ilies. “His first love is for his family” does not iden-tify Christian love. In other words, a person does


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not have to be a Christian to love his family,although Christian love most assuredly includesfamily love. If Jesus had manifested God’s lovewithin his family only, it would have been bottledup and you and I would never have known aboutit. Christian love begins with faith in Jesus and isours to share if we are to be His disciples. The loveof Jesus extended far beyond His love of family.When we think about it, it is apparent thatChristian love is meant to do the same.


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33THE CHRISTIAN WAY INCLUDESRESPONSE TO THE TEACHINGS

OF JESUS—John 14:21

I wear a wristband that has the initials W. W. J.D. “What would Jesus do?” This is my key torightly dividing the Word of Truth. Because Godthe Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one, it is essen-tial for us to know the nature of Jesus. How wouldHe respond to a hated tax collector (Luke 5:27-28),or to a Roman soldier who asked Him for healingfor his servant (Luke 7:2-10), or to a demonic man(Luke 8:38-39), or to an adulteress (John 8:3, 5, 7,10-11), or to a leper (Matthew 8:2-3)? His responseof love and compassion, in each of these cases,should tell us that love and compassion are Hisnature. Jesus came to serve and not to be served.

The apostle Paul challenges us to Let this mindbe in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.(Philippians 2:5.) As we study, pray, and witnessour faith, we will learn to better identify the needsof others and respond with love and compassion.


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We are prepared by the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8) andby our knowledge of the nature of Jesus Christ.

The Ten Commandments are a wonderfulsource of God’s instruction in righteousness, butshould be viewed only as pre-Christians theology.(Galatians 3:24-25.) If salvation came through theLaw, then Christ is dead in vain. (Galatians 2:21.)We know that Jesus introduced God’s grace andtruth into the world to replace the Law of Moses.(John 1:17.) Our personification of the fruit of theSpirit (Galatians 5:22-23) in our lives is our dailywitness of our Christian faith. If we are to orallywitness God’s love, it is necessary for us to have anawareness of the Holy Spirit at that moment. Wecannot share what we don’t have. The Holy Spiritbecomes our source of what to share and how toshare it. I have been blessed time and time againthrough evaluating and responding to opportuni-ties to witness. What to say, how to react? Whatwould He do?


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34A PERSON’S WITNESS IS PROOF

OF HIS FAITH —John 7:38

Faith is the subject of our witness and also thereason behind our desire to witness. We have allheard the expression “step out in faith.” It maysound like double talk to say, but it takes faith tostep out in faith to witness faith. Wow!

Our witness should always show how ourfaith has changed our lives. All that we are inChrist began with our profession of faith in Him.We soon become aware that faith is the guidinglight of Christianity.

One of the strengths of a personal witness isthat it is not subject to scrutiny. It’s like the way aperson spells his name, or how he wears his hair.As these are how a person represents himselfphysically, his witness is how he represents him-self spiritually.

Denominationalism is said to be one reasonwhy the unsaved person is confused about pro-fessing faith in Christ. I once had the privilege of


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witnessing in Russia. When the people were toldthat there are Methodist, Baptist, and ChristianChurches plus many other denominations, thereply of many was “we thought that all Churcheswere Christian Churches.”

Different denominations allow Churches toaccent different spiritual gifts and/or differentinterpretations of Christian Doctrine, but shoulddiffer only in how they worship, never in why theyworship.

My late friend, Olus Cullers, had a wonderfulwitness which included the how, when, where,and why he became a Christian. When he was inthe Navy in World War II, he realized his need tomake a decision for Christ. When he first came tothe altar on board his ship, which was in a warzone, two Christians came and knelt, one on eachside, to pray for him. One said, “just hang on,” theother said, “just turn loose.” This added humor toOlus’ witness, but he accepted both as from God asthe Holy Spirit was transforming his life. That iswhen his witness, which was so sincere, so power-ful, and so full of examples of God’s grace andtruth in his life, had its beginning.


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A person’s witness is not expected to be uni-versal truth, but it does have meaning and inspira-tion for the person(s) for whom it is intended.

A profound statement about witnessing is thatall Christians are witnesses to others. It may begood, bad, or neutral (which is also bad). The ques-tion that should confront all Christians is that ofhow to express our faith as a positive example ofGod’s love. Will a non-Christian onlooker say yes,no, or have no reaction to our personification ofChristianity? Only when we share the impact offaith in our lives, can we know the joy of havingdone so. When I see Christians with no visible evi-dence of love, joy, or peace in their lives, I knowthat their lives are not personifying the faith thatthey profess. Why they, as sleepy Christians, denythemselves and others the blessings of sharingtheir faith, I will never understand.


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35WHEREAS I WAS BLIND, NOW I SEE

—John 9:25

Since we have been participating in Lay WitnessMissions, Deloris and I have tried to keep our wit-nesses up to date. She is always trying new songs pluspracticing the one medley which seems to identifyher gift of music. Also, it seems to be the perfect lead-in music prior to the Sunday morning witnessing bythe coordinator who replaces the pastor for the wor-ship service. Although my witness has basically beenthe same for years, I try to update it with some currentexamples wherein I have experienced God’s love withothers in some new way. We both grow in faiththrough our opportunities to share with others.Deloris was privileged to sing at the funeral servicefor Glen Smith, who had been her choir director foryears. She felt honored to be asked by Glen’s widowto sing and she never accepts any money for singing.

There is a humorous aspect of our witnessing. Atfirst, Deloris had no witness and people would intro-duce her as my wife. After she began singing, peoplenow introduce me as her husband.


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When we think of our opportunities to witness,we know that we have been blessed by havingdone so. We have learned to seek common groundin our faith with many different Churches andDenominations. All this is to say that the Lord hasgiven us confidence to share faith, in some way,with anyone who shows an interest.

I have a late Sunday School friend who wasgifted with eloquence in teaching the Bible. Hewas once impressed and deeply moved by a signon the top of a metal building as his plane waslanding. It simply said, “Remember Jesus Christ.”He was impressed by the simplicity of its wordingjust as John 9:25 should do for all, Whereas I wasblind, now I see. This witness very simplydescribes the Christian conversion experience.


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36IF WE CONTINUE IN HIS WORD, THEN

WE BECOME HIS DISCIPLESTHROUGH THE KNOWLEDGE OF

TRUTH AND WE SHALL BE FREE INDEED

—John 8:31-32

The word truth is such an all-inclusive word.Jesus told Pilate that bearing witness to the truthwas His reason for coming to earth. Just as love isthe theme, truth is love’s identity. As an overallexpression of truth, God validates His love for theworld by His offer of eternal life through faith inHis Son, Jesus Christ, whom He sent to share thistruth with all men. In order for us to become Hisdisciples, it is necessary that we understand whatfaith in Jesus means. We need to be able to puttruth into words that can be received and acceptedjust as though they were from Jesus Himself. Toacquire this level of wisdom, Jesus instructs us tocontinue in His word.

The significance of this expression of truth isthat it sets parameters for Christian life: have faith,understand what it includes, and share it with oth-


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ers. This is discipleship, and it is abundant life.Jesus calls us to be His disciples and, through theHoly Spirit, He equips us to do so. As His disci-ples, we are inspired to share our own personallove of God with others and to meet their physicalneeds within our ability to do so. The Holy Spiritempowers us to witness, without reservation, thesame as He did for the Disciples at Pentecost.

The only thing that comes close to the joy ofmy salvation is observing the same joy in another,knowing that God used my personal witness, insome way, to influence his decision. Close behindis being part of the spiritual renewal in a Churchthrough a Lay Witness Mission where Deloris andI were members. This is what Lay WitnessMissions are all about.

Following the LWM, the local Church willhave an evaluation meeting to discuss the overallmerits of the weekend. Here are some of the waysthat Churches are blessed: Three generations ofone family were at the altar praying together forthe first time ever; a father and son, who had beenestranged for years, were reunited with hugs andtears of joy; one elderly lady felt the presence ofthe Holy Spirit in her Church for the first time in


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years; one Church secretary rededicated her life tothe Lord; one family with two small childrenprayed together at night for the first time and thechildren told their parents that they wanted tohave prayer every night, and one pastor’s problemwith some of his Church members was healed.These are the basic types of evaluations that verifythe effectiveness of the Missions.

Sometimes a very special personal blessing isreceived such as when our Church had a LayWitness Mission in 1980. Deloris’ response to theexpressions of love that she saw in the team was:“Those people have something that I don’t have,and I want it.” Her wish was granted when sheresponded to the altar call. We were blessed,beyond measure, as Jesus became the center of ourmarriage. We had just thought that we had lovedeach other until then. We realized that romanticlove was not nearly enough. We now know thatthis is meant to be part of our Christian witnessand so it has been.


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37GOD GAVE DIVERSITIES OF TONGUES

AS ONE OF MANY GIFTS TO THECHURCH

—1 Corinthians 12:28

The multitude were confounded becauseevery man heard them speak in his own lan-guage. (Acts 2:6)

The Apostle Paul, who spoke in tongues, hadthis view point: He that speaketh in an unknowntongue edifieth himself, but he that prophesiethedifieth the Church. I would that ye all spokewith tongues, but rather ye prophesied; forgreater is he that prophesieth than he thatspeaketh with tongues except he interpret, thatthe Church may receive edifying. (1 Corinthians14:4-5) Paul, being the evangelist, knew that hewould be addressing non-believers and he knewthat he needed to speak words of understanding tothem. (1 Corinthians 14:19)

I once taught a Wednesday night teenage Biblestudy. In that group there was one very loveableyoung lady who spoke in tongues. I asked her torelate how and when she felt inspired to use the


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gift. She said that she often would become stressedout over studying for tests in school and, thatwhen she did, she would stop and pray silently.Although she didn’t know the words of her prayer,she knew that her prayer had been answeredbecause she would become as refreshed as if shehad awakened from a good night’s sleep. No inter-pretation was needed.

Paul names the spiritual gifts ( 1 Cor. 12-28 )and describes the proper procedure for using them(1 Cor. 14:27-31 ).

Paul's conclusion: For God is not the author ofconfusion, but of peace, as in all the Churches ofthe saints. (1 Cor. 14:33 )

All Church members are not expected to haveall of the spiritual gifts (1 Cor. 12:29-30). Moreexcellent than sharing any spiritual gift is knowingthat it glorifies God and not the person sharing.

Paul puts all spiritual gifts in perspective inGalatians 6:14. But God forbid that I should gloryexcept in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.


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38CONDEMNATION IS SELF-INFLICTED

—John 3:17-18

If every person lived by the Ten command-ments there would be no more crime, but wouldwe love each other as God expressed His love forus through Jesus Christ? Think about it.

The Ten Commandments are simple, and yetprofound, directions for our lives, while the storiesof Samuel, David, Daniel, and others are examplesof how obedience to God’s Law influenced anddirected their lives.

The Proverbs are God’s social wisdom. Theydefine God’s Law in terms of how to avoid costlyerrors in our lives and how to relate to each other.

The Prophets define God’s response to thepast, present, and future of Israel. The Prophetsalso tell of God’s promise to send His Messiah tosubdue their enemies, establish His Kingdom, andreign in peace. Solomon met their general mes-sianic ideals, but allowed his vanity to corruptGod’s wisdom.


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In the New Testament, the Kingdom of God isviewed as being within the hearts of those whomanifest the love of Jesus. (Luke 17:20-21.) BecauseSalvation is through faith in Jesus as the truth ofGod, condemnation is through rejecting the truthof God as He Manifested it. (John 3:17-20.) Jesusdoes not condemn anyone, but His words will ifthey are rejected (John 12:48). We don’t so muchbreak the Word of God as we break ourselves onthe Word. Condemnation can only be seen as selfinflicted, but it need not be so, because Salvation isGod’s gift to anyone whose spirit is born againthrough faith in His Son. (John 3:3-16).


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39OLD TESTAMENT TEACHINGS

My favorite O.T. personality was the youthfulDavid. His victory over Goliath, with a sling shot,caused the Philistines to flee in fear. His completefaith in God allowed him to overcome fear.Likewise, complete faith in Jesus Christ will enableChristians to overcome fear, no matter what theodds may be. As I later read the story of David’slife, my favorite O.T. personality changed toDaniel because his whole life, not just his youth,was an example of victory over fear through faithin God.

The Kingdom of Israel was given to Solomonby his father, David. Wisdom to rule it was givento him by God. Before his reign ended, Solomonmade the mistake of rejecting God. For it came topass, when Solomon was old, that his wivesturned away his heart after other gods. (1 Kings11:4) Also, he had used his wealth and power toattain worldly possessions, none of which broughthim any ongoing happiness. In fact, he witnessedthat all his worldly indulgences brought him noth-ing but vanity and vexation of spirit. (Eccl. 2:1-17)



This may be the wisest “proverb” that Solomoncould have written.

The Old Testament belief in the Messiah isfound in Isaiah 9:7, which identified the Messiah asthe physical, not spiritual, redeemer of the Hebrewnation. Because this was their concept of theMessiah, the Hebrew chief priests rejected, perse-cuted, and incited the crowd to cause the death ofJesus on the cross. Their anti-Christ actions weretheir way of upholding the Law of Moses whichwas the basis of their belief in God. Although theythought to end the ministry of Jesus, just the oppo-site resulted: Christianity was born through Hisdeath, resurrection, ascension and His sending ofthe Holy Spirit. (John 14:15-17,26)

Christians will not be judged by the O.T. Lawbecause it is not the basis of Christian faith. Ibelieve that Christians will be judged (known) bythe fruit of their witness of faith in Jesus Christ. Heis the source of God’s grace and truth, not to iden-tify righteousness, but as the foundation ofChristian Faith.

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Blessed Assurance


40YOUR JOY NO MAN TAKETH

FROM YOU —John 16:22

Since I have learned the difference betweenhappiness and joy, it has had a very real impact onmy thinking. It is mostly because of the Lord’spromise that joy is secure in our lives. I know thatthe joy of my salvation is not apt to ever be as won-derful as when I received it, but I know that it isalways there.

When I confront trauma of any kind, I knowthat joy is never far away All I have to do is seekGod’s wisdom and wait for joy to override myproblem. When a family member, or loved onedies, our first reaction is sorrow. Joy seems faraway. But as we celebrate the person’s life and ourfirm belief that he is in heaven, it doesn’t take longfor our joy to return.

I can witness that nothing has ever taken awaymy joy. Some trauma may have temporarily inter-rupted it, but that’s all that it did.

B l e s s e d A s s u r a n c e

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41REJOICE NOT THAT I HAVE GIVENYOU POWER, BUT REJOICE THATYOUR NAMES ARE WRITTEN IN

HEAVEN. AMEN —Luke 10:20

It seems a shame that “the trouble with youthis that it is wasted on the very young.” There is somuch worldly allure, so much surplus energy, andso much curiosity, that when they come together itis very difficult for a youth to say “no” to worldli-ness. As adults, it is much easier for us to putChristianity ahead of worldly temptations. Is itbecause our faith has matured, or because we haveexperienced worldliness and can rejoice that wehave been forgiven? Once was enough. Abundantlife, that Jesus spoke of, is such a wonderful, on-going experience. We can be freed from concernabout tomorrow and from worry about today. Wecan find joy through discipleship and know thatwe have been freed to live life to the fullest in Hisname. There can be no greater comfort of Christianfaith than to know that our names are written inheaven. Amen.


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42BE OF GOOD CHEER; IT IS I,

BE NOT AFRAID —Matthew 14:27

The Bible describes faith as the substance ofthings hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.(Hebrews 11:1.)

Faith can be focused on a current situation, or itcan be focused on future possibilities. There’s a fineline between fear and concern. I hope so, because Idefinitely am concerned about our military con-frontations, but I am not fear possessed as a result ofmy concern. The peace of God is still mine.

My late Aunt Pearl was an active Christian. Sheand my Uncle Ulus were daily Bible readers, veryhospitable, and their lives exemplified Christianlove, but she was terrified of storms. Whereverthey lived had to have a cellar. Their cellar, likeeveryone’s cellar, was used to store fresh cannedfood, but its primary function, for my aunt, was asa shelter from storms. Her faith in Jesus did notinclude protection from natural disasters.


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As far as I am concerned, she was right, but Icouldn’t share her fear of storms. However, whentornadoes were in the forecast, I would welcome acellar of my own. My fear is overcome whenobserving electrical storms because I am fascinatedby the awesome power of God.

It is just as awesome to know that, throughprayer and meditation, we can lay down our bur-dens at the foot of the Cross in exchange for thepeace of God, knowing that this is our ongoingreason to be of good cheer.


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43FAITH IS THE VICTORY THAT

OVERCOMES THE WORLD —1 John 5:4

He was in the world, and the world was madeby him, and the world knew him not. (John 1:10.)It is evident that the allure of the world and thewill of God are complete opposites. Many times aChurch-going family will become a lake-goingfamily because of the allure ofcamping, boating, skiing, etc. Oneyoung member of our Churchbecame a Sunday morning fisher-man. It’s not that their hobbies arebad, it is their timing that is bad.The simple truth is that no onecan afford to put worldly pleas-ures ahead of his Christian commitment. If hedoes, he not only misses hearing and sharing theWord of God, but also he may influence others todo the same. Dedicated Christian parents will bothdirect, and inspire their children to seek salvationas they witness their Christian faith on a dailybasis.


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What we giveup is only a fraction ofwhat wereceive.


I began smoking cigarettes in high schoolbecause it was the “in” thing to do, not thinking ofmy body as the Temple of God. (1 Corinthians3:16) I smoked until medical reports began to tielung cancer to smoking. It was then that I quitsmoking without looking back. It was my decisionto stop smoking, but I credit the Lord for the easewith which I was able to overcome the habit.

I have lost several friends to lung cancer, per-sons who knew the danger of smoking, but couldn’t(wouldn’t) quit. One of my employees told me thathe enjoyed smoking so much that he would neverquit. When he developed throat cancer, he quitsmoking in a heartbeat, but it was too late. Jesusteaches that He has overcome the world. (John16:33) Complete faith in Him will enable us toovercome the world also. I know that it is truebecause I have heard personal testimonies, byChristians, that their faith has freed them from allkinds of physically harmful, sinful, and demean-ing habits.


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44PEACE I LEAVE WITH YOU… NOT AS THE WORLD GIVETH

—John 14:27

When we are contented, we are experiencingworldly peace. Such peace is temporal. It dependson the actions of others, or on circumstances, or onsomething else that is pleasing to us. Jesus tells usthat this is not the peace that He gives us. Thepeace of God is one fruit of the Holy Spirit. It isSpiritual, not physical, because it is due to ourChristian demeanor. There are Scriptures that offeran alternate to trauma and fear: Come unto me, allye that labour and are heavy laden, and I willgive you rest. (Matthew 11:28.) In the world youshall have tribulation: but be good cheer; I haveovercome the world. (John 16:33.) Take thereforeno thought for the morrow, for tomorrow will beanxious for the things of itself. (Matthew 6:34.)Rejoice, because your names are written inheaven. (Luke 10:20.)

These teachings of Jesus are meant to show ussome ways that the Holy Spirit will bless our livesif we walk the way of salvation. Another way to


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find the peace of God is to lose ourselves in doingacts of love and mercy for others, to God’s gloryand not our own. As we become involved in someChristian service, our joy becomes exceeding joy,and there is no room for gloom. Joy equates topeace of God. Our lives should manifest the love ofJesus which exceeds all other types of love as muchas the peace of God exceeds any peace that world-liness has to offer.


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IN CONCLUSION

Listed below are teachings, based on Scripturesthat are meant to free Christians from needless the-orizing, but are ignored by many. See if you agree.

Not even Jesus knew when He would comeagain. But of that day and hour knoweth no man,no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.(Matthew 24:36, 44, 46.) There was at least onetime, in my memory, when a group of Christiansthought that they knew when it would be. Theygathered together on a mountain to greet thatwonderful day. The only problem was that it did-n’t happen. Why? Because Jesus taught that onlyGod knows when it will be. I don’t wonder that itdidn’t happen, but I do wonder why they chose toignore the teaching of Jesus.

Throughout history, men have been sure thatthey knew who the antichrist was. Some were surethat it was Nero, others were sure that it wasHitler, or some other tyrannical power. To me theantichrist is not the physical person, such as Nero,or Hitler, but it is the spirit that controlled theirantichrist nature and directed their antichristactions.


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The New Testament books of 1st and 2nd Johnteach, …even now are there many antichrists. (1John 2:18.) He is antichrist, that denieth theFather and the Son. (1 John 2:22.) For manydeceivers are entered into the world, who confessnot that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This isa deceiver and an antichrist. (2 John 7.) I choose toaccept these teachings, at face value, and look forrevelation elsewhere.

1. Living a righteous life is proof of salvation, nota prerequisite of salvation.

2. I have witnessed the Bible because it is true,not that it is true because I have witnessed it.

3. “Cheap grace” is the mistaken idea that Godwill forgive sins that we have not acknowl-edged and of which we have not repented.

4. He is no fool who exchanges that which hecannot keep for that which he cannot lose.

For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gainthe whole world, and lose his own soul? (Mark 8:36)

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LAY WITNESS TESTIMONIALS

An example of an outstanding witness is myfriend, Bob McAdoo. Bob’s ancestors were foundersof the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. He wasreared in Church, he became an elder in hisChurch, and he believed in Jesus. Because of all ofthis, Bob felt that he was secure in his faith…untilone of his Church’s revivals. Bob felt obliged togive up some of his Reelfoot Lake fishing time toattend one of the nights of the revival. The nextday he took the evangelist by the lake as part of atour of the area. When he came to where a friendwas fishing, the evangelist asked Bob to stop sothat he could talk to Bob’s friend. As the evangelistwas talking to Bob’s friend, his friend took a flaskof whiskey out of his pocket and threw it into thelake.

Bob rushed back to town knowing that he wasgoing to be next. In a hotel room, the evangelistasked Bob if he was a Christian. Bob told him thathe was an elder in his Church. The evangelistresponded, “That’s not what I asked you.” Throughthe evangelist’s sharing the Gospel of salvationwith him, Bob accepted Jesus into his heart. He

Blessed Assurance

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began witnessing his salvation with his employees.His whole Christian experience has been evangel-ism. Bob has retired as Chairman of Evangelismfor a large Protestant Church in Tulsa, Oklahomawhere he now serves on a part-time basis. I upholdBob McAdoo as the most effective evangelist that Ihave ever known personally. The Holy Spirit hasworked through Bob to bring salvation to hun-dreds of people through his gift of evangelism.

Clarence Garten of Abilene, Kansas is anotherdedicated evangelist. His job as a cattlemanaffords many opportunities for him to share hisfaith with others. Through his jail ministry, hisChurch, and his coordination of Lay WitnessMissions, his dedication to evangelism is a con-stant source of meaning for others. I will alwaysremember Clarence’s summation of the ministry ofJesus: GOD GAVE HIS LIFE FOR US, SO THAT HECOULD GIVE HIS LIFE TO US, SO THAT HECOULD LIVE HIS LIFE THROUGH US.

Other coordinators, whom I have known, havebeen used by the Holy Spirit to bring spiritualrenewal in hundreds of Churches. They simplywitness how faith in Jesus has changed their livesand teach bonding of Church members through


small sharing groups. They are Dale and BillieGranstaff of Overton, Texas; Jerry and BettyHolliday of Neodesha, Kansas; Dale and JuneMarcy of Valley Center, Kansas; and Kirk andKaren Nystrom of Topeka, Kansas. I have listedthem in alphabetical order to indicate that they areequally dedicated in sharing their personal wit-nesses to the glory of God. They have blessed mylife as they have a multitude of others. Only theLord knows how many. Thank you, Jesus.

When Deloris and I were coordinators for aLWM in Wheaton, Missouri, one of our team mem-bers cancelled due to illness, just one day beforethe weekend was to start. It was such a short noticethat I was fearful that I might not find someone totake his place. I shouldn't have been. The first per-son I called agreed to be his substitute. I expressedmy gratitude to Joyce Rush by saying “I’ll love youforever.” Her response, “I thought you alreadydid.” Praise the Lord for such love and loyaltybetween dedicated Christian brothers and sisters.


II MMEETT TTHHEE MMAASSTTEERR

I had walked life’s way with an easy treadHad followed where comfort and pleasure led,Until one day in a quiet place,I met the Master face to face.

With station and rank and wealth for my goal,Much thought for my body but none for my soul,I had entered to win in life’s mad race,When I met the Master face to face.

I met him and knew him, and blushed to see,That His eyes full of sorrow were fixed on me,I faltered and fell at His feet that day,While my castles melted and vanished away.

Melted and vanished and in their place,Naught else did I see but the Master’s face,And I cried aloud, “O make me meet,To walk in the steps of thy wounded feet.”

My thought is now for the souls of men,I have lost my life to find it again,E’er since one day in a quiet place,I met the Master face to face.

— unknown


SUMMATION

This book is a tribute to the Gospel of salva-tion. Jesus introduced God’s grace and truth whichthe N.T. writers, especially the Apostle Paul,expanded into Christian Doctrine.

My born again experience resulted from mychildhood faith in Jesus, but I didn’t recognize itspotential blessings until I began to mature inChristian faith. I now realize that joy, not happi-ness, is God’s blessing in response to sharing faithin His name.

Teaching the Bible requires time to study andmeditate. This has resulted in my selection of scrip-tures which have the most meaning and whichessentially encompass Christian Faith for me.

I am especially thankful for our participationin the Lay Witness Ministry which inspiredDeloris to ask Jesus into her heart. This book is theresult of my wanting to relate the simplicity ofChristian faith as I have experienced and shared it.

The closer I come to an awareness of the natureof Jesus, the farther away I realize that I am, but Ialso realize that Christian faith is a wonderfulongoing experience. Praise The Lord.


IN HIS NAME

— Paul Messick


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Postulates of Christian Faith - Celebrate the Joy · source of love, the manifestation of love, and...

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