"Whom Paul Affirms To Be Alive" Fairest Lord Jesus - Maranatha Celtic

"When the accusers stood up, they brought no accusation against him of such things as I suspected, but had some questions against him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus, who had died, whom Paul affirmed to be alive." (Acts 25:18, 19)

This is one of the best Gospel sermons I have ever heard.  I just love it when some non religious person "preaches" the Gospel.  The Amplified Bible says, "Instead, they had some points of disagreement with him about their own religion and about one Jesus, a man who had died, but whom Paul kept asserting and insisting [over and over] to be alive"!! 

This is that upon which, what the Bible calls, "the faith of Jesus," rises and falls.  This is everything, or we have nothing.  Believe this, accept this, or whatever else goes on in our lives is absolutely meaningless.  But, because Jesus Christ has conquered sin and the grave, because Jesus Christ lives, we, the Followers of, "the Lamb wherever He goes," have been singing the praises of This Risen, Victorious Lord Jesus Christ through the ages.  I have included one such worship song below.

At Mars Hill, when they heard of the resurrection, the Bible tells us that some, "mocked, laughed outright, sneered."  Nothing has changed.  The majority of humanity still views the claim of the Church as did Festus, a Roman authority.  For them, it is still merely, "....a dead man named Jesus, who Paul insists is alive."  You and I, however, are a part of, "goodly heritage," one that has been affirming for centuries, "He is not here; for He has risen as He said."

Father, in Jesus' Name, I too, "insist" that You are, "alive."  Amen.

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Click on the site below.

This, my friend, is what I call WORSHIP:

-----Original Message-----

https://youtu.be/wdNASJDwvAU

From "Me" To Church and Kingdom

"The chief priests answered, 'We have no king but Caesar.'  Then he delivered Him to them to be crucified."  (John 19:15c, 16a)

The "trial" had been going on for hours.  We get the implication from the various narratives that Pilate wanted to "release" Jesus------ but then our text.  The talk of, "The Son of God," put fear in Pilate, but it wasn't until the crowd affirmed allegiance to Rome that, "Then he delivered Him...."

We could say that the Cross of Jesus "created" the Church, the Redeemed, the "saved," the New Covenant People of God, for it was, "in His Cross," that Jesus obtained the forgiveness of sin, "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the authority to become the Children of God...."  If it were not for the Cross of Jesus and His Resurrection, you and I would be, "having no hope and without God in the world."

But John 19 further affirms the declaration at the end of the Bible that Jesus Himself is, "King of kings, and Lord of lords."  Jesus' claim to be King put an end to things in that Roman judgment hall.  While, "The Son of God," threatened the "religious" community, "whoever makes himself a king speaks against Caesar," threatened Rome-------- later, America, Russia, the EU.  "Then he delivered Him to them...."  Talk only of Savior and the world has little problem with us.  Talk and live, King, "In the world you will have tribulation."   

The message of the Kingdom has been mostly silenced over the centuries of Church History.  Classic Evangelicalism of the last 200 years has emphasized "Personal Savior."  It developed that after saying the "sinner's prayer," it's on to everything is about me, finding my life's purpose, finding happiness, the how-to of my personal life, family, business, etc.  Just look at the list of books on any "Christian" website.  It was inevitable that this theology would ultimately give birth to the self-centered song, "Me and Jesus have our own thing goin'."  Regardless of the appeal to self, this does not lead to what is promised.  Happiness, fulfillment is in, "Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you."   

Jesus died later that day.  Jesus died so that, "sin shall not have dominion over you."  Jesus died and rose from the grave so that humanity can be free from serving self to serving one another.  Jesus' Death and Resurrection released Eternal Life to all who Follow Him, and "sealed" His Reign as King of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Father, in Jesus' Name, help me to be more of a Church-Kingdom person than a me person.  Amen.

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

Hebrews 12:2

The Unalloyed Gospel

"When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, 'Woman, where are those accusers of yours?  Has no one condemned you?'  She said, 'No one, Lord.'  And Jesus said to her, 'Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.'"  (John 8:10, 11)

The Gospel Message here is quite clear, though through the centuries, right up to the present day, it has been "tweaked."  Much of the "gospel" today is, "Neither do I condemn you........................"  It packs church services, but endangers the adherents by not proclaiming the glorious, "power of the Gospel," viz., "Go and sin no more," which Romans 6 later affirms to us, "Sin shall no longer have the dominion over you"! 

It does a person no good to hear, "There is now no condemnation..," if they do not hear and walk in the empowering, "....knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be rendered inoperative, that we should no longer be slaves of sin....For sin shall not have dominion over you."  I am not deprecating forgiveness, grace, mercy.  I am, however, "exalting" the deliverance power in the Blood of Jesus which enables me to, "Go and sin no more."  No, neither I nor you are sinless people.  But the command of Jesus in our text is something like, "Don't let this happen again."  Our Lord Jesus Christ would not say such to people if He cannot empower us to so walk therein.

Our text is akin to Ephesians 2:8-10.  The Four Spiritual Laws do not include verse 10, but they should have, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."  What good does it do a person if that person walks out of a church meeting feeling all gushy, bouncy, and happy, if it was only a placebo?!? 

We can only imagine what the woman in our text must have experienced in that moment Our Lord Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you"------ but also in the sobering, albeit seemingly impossible, "Go and sin no more."  This is unalloyed Gospel.

Father, in Jesus' Name, I will never be able to thank You enough for driving me into all of Your Words.  Amen.

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

Hebrews 12:2

"And They Stood Still, Looking Sad" (New Address Included)

"And [Jesus] said to them, 'What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another?'  And they stood still, looking sad."  (Luke 24:17)

When prayers are "unanswered," when expectations seem illusory, when life is just not working out the way you had hoped, even from when you were a child, "And they stood still, looking sad", is all there is, that is, if one takes eyes off Jesus Christ.

The two on the Emmaus Road were like everyone else, e.g., the future "apostles" in hiding, Mary, who thought the Risen Christ was, "the gardener," Thomas, who had to see everything which only faith can see.  Sadness was all around in those hours from Gethsemane to Jesus' Body in the tomb, right up to, "the first day of the week."  This was not supposed to be the way it would end.  As the two later said to Jesus, "But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel...."

"O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!" was Jesus' response to their downtrodden state.  I posted a statement yesterday that I stopped underlining in my Bibles decades ago.  I said that perhaps the reason was that I thought it was an "insult" to the Lord God, viz., selecting passages which, yes, blessed me, but I think there could be something for all of us in the statement, "If you want to know what God is saying to you, read what you haven't underlined."

Maybe we could say of the Followers of Jesus, even from the beginning of their sojourn with Jesus, that they were only reading what they had "underlined."  The "Word" for you and me, indeed the Twenty-First Century Church is, "....believe in all that the Prophets have spoken."

Father, in Jesus' Name, I believe/receive.  Amen. 

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New Address as of September 14:

134 Westmoreland Ave.

Greensburg

PA

15905

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

Hebrews 12:2

Praise To The 13th Power

"Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.  Praise the Lord!"  (Psalm 150:6)

In my revised schedule, I finished the Psalms this morning.  I always take special note that the Bible "Book of Prayer" ends in great praises, "Praise Him.., Praise Him.., Praise Him," just keeps repeating.  I do.  What you and I and all the Covenant People need to realize, however, is that praise, worship, prayer takes many varying "forms."  Never disparage the soul who finds praise, worship, prayer, in moments much as Isaac did, "Isaac went out to meditate in the field in the evening."  This particularly is very powerful for me. 

Psalm 19 says something further on this.  "The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.  Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night reveals knowledge."  Yet, "There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard."  And yet, again, "Their sound has gone out through all the earth, and their utterances to the end of the world."  There may be, "sound," and, "words," of which to date we know nothing.  Yet such have, "....gone out through all the earth, and...to the end of the world."   Keep going, "sound"!

So, in all of this, rather than just being "taught" the how-to" from the popular "worship" and "prayer" gurus, allow our Lord Jesus Christ to teach us how to pray, worship, praise, intercede, etc.  We just might find an, "out...in the field..," encounter which we have never known.

Father, in Jesus' Name, I too call upon the elements of the universe to, "PRAISE HIM!"  Amen.

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

Hebrews 12:2