Thank You President Bush!

I want to share Steven Curtis Chapman's new song written as a thank you for our President Bush's eight years of devoted service to us and our country. I, too, am so grateful for him. Our family has embraced him both in prayer and in our hearts. He will be sorely missed, but kept close always. We love you President Bush. Thank you! God bless you and give you rest now. :)

And thank you, Steven Curtis Chapman, for putting to words and music what we feel. And thank you for sharing your life and the mighty grace of God with us. We love you, too! :)



Good Bye. Mr. President.
Whether you voted for him & love him, or you’ve disagreed with all his policies and dislike him... Could we all agree on this? We owe President Bush a sincere thank you. As the historic Inauguration of President Elect Barack Obama approaches, StevenCurtisChapman.com pauses to thank our outgoing President for his service to our great country. This Thanksgiving weekend, we hope you’ll enjoy a new song by Steven written in President Bush’s honor.

http://www.stevencurtischapman.com/?roi=farm-16269486-120012-7f2c9970d8819b8ed95362990addf9e0&

The Double Message -- Part 2

What is the issue Paul is speaking to when he starts talking about freedom and standing firm in that freedom? The issue is -- Salvation is by grace thru faith alone. You cannot earn it. You cannot deserve it. You cannot accomplish it in the flesh. It is a work of the Spirit. That is all. Any adding of the flesh. Any adding of your works to that process, will negate it. No one would argue with that. Now, Paul takes another step into an arena where people might disagree and certainly where many people misunderstand.

He says, the way you came to faith. The same way you came to freedom. . . that is the way you have to live. "It was for freedom" = that's how you came and "keep standing firm" = that's how you're going to have to live. Galatians 3:2 & 3 says, "Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ. 3 How foolish can you be? After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort?" Answer that. Was it by your striving that you were born again? NO. What happened? The Spirit of God "blasted" you. You received Jesus Christ. There was a sense of freedom and joy. "Are you so foolish that having begun by the Spirit . . .are you now being perfected by the flesh?" THAT'S THE DOUBLE MESSAGE! They had received the Spirit by faith thru grace, and now they were working like crazy in their flesh to be perfected . . . to receive their sanctification with their own effort. Guess what? This explains frustrated Christians!

Whenever freedom is discussed . . . whenever we talk about it . . . the discussion that it is not being up to you, the question always comes, "This freedom from the law is great. What? I can do anything I want to do? And I can be free to sin and get into all sorts of garbage?" THAT ISN'T TRUE! That isn't true. We are not set free to ignore God's moral law. God's moral law is still the standard. That isn't what we are talking about. The law we are speaking of is the law that we would use to try to get me to be holy. God's moral law is still the standard, e.g. "love one another." "Love the Lord . . . and love your neighbor as yourself." That moral standard is the standard that we would move to. The question is not do I keep God's moral law or not. The question is this -- what is the dynamic in some one's life that would move him into obedience to God's moral law? What is the dynamic in some one's life that would really produce holy, godly living? There's two answers to that question: 1) Put him in prison. Put him under the law. I can get people to behave a certain way by putting him in prison. By putting walls around him. Give him rules to follow. Tell him what to do and what not to do. . . how to act, and how not to act. . . what to care about and what not to care about. Put him in prison. Put little walls around him. And I can get him to "act" just exactly the way I want him to act. That's called EXTERNAL CONTROL. There's another way. It's a bizarre way. It's God's idea and it's really great! But, it's very, very hard to grasp sometimes. And many of us even after coming to know Jesus as our Savior, reject it. It's this -- 2) The other way to get people to live a holy life is to set them free.

But first, before you set someone free, if I set someone free who hasn't ever been changed INSIDE, I'm just going to have ANARCHY. He's going to go off and do whatever he wants to do. And it won't be anything about the Spirit of God. What I'm gonna do first, Jesus said, before the foundations of the world, is I'm gonna take these people and I'm gonna make them brand new people. Ill give them a new heart. I'm gonna make a brand new creature in Christ. I'm gonna implant the Holy Spirit of God in them. And then, I'm going to set them free. Think on this. . . How do I get people to live a holy life? Put 'em in prison? That's one way. Keep the rules there. Keep all the little boundaries there. Another way is to implant in him the Holy Spirit. Give him a new heart. Give him a new life. Make him a new creature in Christ and set him free. (Free to respond himself to the promptings of the Holy Spirit within him by grace, thru faith.)

Do you think that someone in whom the Spirit of God is dwelling is just going to go off and do whatever it is he feels like doing? I don't believe it. Unless the Spirit of God is NOT in him. And the problem for us is that most churches do not function that way. Most of the time we are not committed to setting people free, we are committed to putting them in prison. Because we are so scared (and unbelieving) that if we set them free, they're just going to go off and "run-a-muck."

And so, we tell them the rules and tell them how to act and we tell what to care about and what not to care about (the "build-a-Christian" factory) . . .we tell them when to do it and when not to do it. We put them under a legalistic bondage and we just put them back in prison.

Basically, there's two reasons why we do that -- 1) I don't think we (pastors) really trust the Spirit. Not enough to believe that He's really "at work" within you. Paul said, "it's God Who is at work within you (Philippians 2:13); both to will and to work to His good pleasure."
Philippians 1:6 -- "And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns."

I (Pastor Dave) have NO confidence that God is going to continue in you a good work if you are an "Ishmael" (a natural born son-of-God). If the Spirit of God is NOT born in you, I have no confidence that anything holy is going to come from your life. However, I have every confidence that if the Spirit of God is in your life, having set you free, it will lead to holiness. Absolutely! I've gotta believe that.

But we take people and we put them back in prison and Paul says "don't you dare do that!" If you do that, you will have DEFILED the Gospel. It is no longer the Gospel. It is no longer the Good News! We don't trust the Spirit. We take over His job by putting people back in prison.

Who is Paul speaking to in Galatians? This is vital. From here on in . . . he is speaking to "Isaac's" (these are Dave's buzz words -- an "Isaac" is someone who is supernaturally born of the Spirit of God. . . they are re-born. . . new creature in Christ. An "Ishmael" is someone who is naturally born. . . talks like a Christian. . . acts like a Christian. . . joined a church. . . has been in alliance all their life . . .maybe been on the Board. . . .probably taught Sunday school. . . but they are naturally-born, illegitimate sons of Abraham. . . there never was the implanting of the Holy Spirit (a false convert). Who Paul is speaking to here (in Galatians) are only those to whom the Spirit of God has been implanted -- supernaturally born. Ishmael's, no matter how religious they are or how spiritual they sound, Ishmael's are absolutely incapable of the freedom we are speaking of. They are absolutely incapable of having freedom produce holiness. For an Ishmael, freedom will produce godlessness. . . every time. . . guaranteed. Why? There's nothing left to control them.

Ishmael's get terrified when you start talking about setting people free. Why? An Ishmael wouldn't even understand that there can be another control, because they don't have one! No internal control. . . no presence of the Holy Spirit.
But now in Galatians, Paul is speaking to the dimension that this life inside of us is the work of the Spirit. Internally, indwelling, the life of a true "Isaac."

Here is the "theme" of Galatians: Your striving did not bring salvation. Your striving will not bring sanctification. It is all a work of the Holy Spirit. Galatians 5:5, "For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith." Galatians 5:15, (amp) "But I say, walk and live [habitually] in the [Holy] Spirit [responsive to and controlled and guided by the Spirit]; then you will certainly not gratify the cravings and desires of the flesh (of human nature without God)." It DOES NOT say, "Try hard not to carry out the desires of the flesh. It says, "If you walk by the Spirit, you won't. . . " Galatians 5:18, "But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law." You are no longer in prison. You don't need the rules. You don't need the external control. You've got internal control (unless you are an "Ishmael"). Galatians 5:25, "If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit." And all God's people say, "Amen!" And some of God's people say, "What does that mean?"

Control of the Spirit . . .Spirit-Control . . . has to do with internal transformation. Law, rules, flesh have to do with external pressure. Both of them are designed to produce the same thing. The laws, rules everybody coming down on everybody is designed to produce holy living. Every body's got a good motive. Right? The most legalistic church you could possibly imagine has a good motive and that's holy living. That's what they want. They have opted for external control, tho. A controlling pastor says, "If I can make them feel guilty enough, (and put the fear of God in them) I can get them to do whatever I want them to do or think they should be doing." I can motivate them to do right by external pressure.

Internal transformation requires a work of the Spirit that produces Holy living. When a person is full of the Holy Spirit, wrapped around in Christ, he is set free from that prison. He is set free from the law. If you are led by the Spirit, you are free from the flesh.

In our society, when people break the law, we put them in prison. right? The reason we put them in prison is because the ones who have broken the law, for one reason or another, do not have enough internal control to keep the law on their own. So what they need, in order for them to keep the law, I've go to give them an external control. What we do is "institutionalize" them. We put them in an institution. What does that mean? It means that we need to put that guy in a box that he cannot get out of, so that he keeps the rules or holds to the moral law. Again, everybody wants the same thing. They want to have holy living. This guy has no internal control. So I gotta put him in prison. I gotta give him structure. I've gotta give him walls. I've gotta give him restrictions. I've gotta dump a lot of guilt on him to keep him in line. That's exactly what the law does. It give you external control.

As a believer, having been given internal control, having been given the transformation work of the Spirit of God, what I did when I got saved was I walked out of that prison. Do you remember the day you got saved? The joy? Do you remember the joy, the exhilaration of knowing that you were saved and it wasn't up to you? Knowing that you were accepted and all you had to do was receive it by faith? Knowing that the Spirit of God had come and taken His residence in you and you couldn't explain it, but, you could "feel it?" How long has it been since you "felt it?" And you walked out of prison a free man. Free to break the law, right? No. When we think that it just betrays that we don't have any idea what we're talking about. You are not free to break the law. You're not free to just go and do any thing you want. You are free to fulfill it. Not because some body's pounding on your head. Not because your mommy and your daddy are on your case if you don't. Not because your pastor is yelling and screaming at you. (Not so you can get your pastor's approval!) Not cuz your church pressures you too. But because you've got a NEW HEART from Jesus and you hunger and thirst for His righteousness.

Now, if you take an "Isaac" and you put him back in a legal system to control his behavior, you have just put him back into prison. You have put him back into his cell. When you do that, you have absolutely eliminated the need for the Holy Spirit in his life! As an externally-controlled believer, you've got all this external control . . .what do you need God for? You've got all the rules (spoken and non-spoken), telling you how to behave. . . why would you even be prompted to seek out what it means to be led of the Spirit? Why would you even consider that? You've got all these external things and your pastor telling you what to think, telling you what not to think . . . what to do and what not to do. . . what God likes and what God doesn't like.

I could give you the testimony of Christian after Christian who describes their salvation experience in glowing terms and then they got involved in a controlling church. And all of a sudden it became "external control." (How you looked and how you dressed and how you talked, whether you could date or not date, what college you could go to or not got to, what job you should do, whether you should have 3 children or 5 children . . homeschool or not homeschool. No longer are you Spirit-led but rather "pastor-led.") Whether or not you are circumcised. In a controlling church this is what really matters. You have been "incarcerated" by man. . . not transformed by God. '

By the way, it is much easier to live in a cell than it is to make the right use of my freedom! Isn't that right? That's another reason why Christians just prefer to live under control and a legalistic structure. It's easier. "I don't have to learn to be sensitive to the Spirit. I just obey the rules. Just do it. I don't ever have to DISCERN. I don't ever have to think. I don't ever have to pray. It's all cut and dried. It's all real clear. I don't have to learn to hear the Spirit. SOMEONE ELSE DOES ALL THAT FOR ME. Call the pastor, or elder board, mother or father or someone else does all that praying and that deciding for me. . . ALL THAT DISCERNING FOR ME and they tell me how much to serve, where I should serve, how much is too much and how much is too little. They'll even come to my house and tell me how to raise my children and how to keep my home. They'll tell me what I should be involved in and what I shouldn't be involved in. It's all wonderful! And we'll make these the marks of what a true Christian is. They'll tell me what I should do and what I shouldn't do. They'll tell me what is right and what is wrong. And I'll just keep following along, and if they say give 10% to the Lord then I'll give 10%. And if they say 12%, then I'll give 12% and if they say give it all, then fine, here's the whole bank account. That's fine, BUT DON'T CALL THIS "SPIRIT CONTROL." DON'T CALL THAT THE CONTROL OF THE SPIRIT.

The Double Message -- Part 1

It's really on my heart to begin sharing something of Dave Johnson's (co-author of "The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse" and pastor at Church of the Open Door in Minnesota). This church has a ministry of a "lending library" that has really been instrumental towards my recovery from legalism and growth in God's grace. I met Dave's dad, Bill Johnson, long ago at a Christian camp called, Silver Birch, up in northern Wisconsin. Bill Johnson and his wife and I became friends and started corresponding while they were retired in Florida. I was also able to participate in Bill's conference on Job and have loved his audios and book on Job called, "Friendly Fire." God has used both Bill (who is now in Heaven) and his son, Dave, to present to me the clear Gospel.

Dave's teaching on "The Double Message" is powerful and valuable and that's why I'm quoting most of it and for the sake of time, breaking it down into parts. May God bring all of us into total trust in Christ, having no confidence in our flesh, but be completely led by the Spirit. Amen.





Galatians 5:1-6 (Walk by the Spirit)
1 It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. 2 Behold I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you. 3 And I testify again to every man who receives circumcision, that he is under obligation to keep the whole Law. 4 You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. 5 For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love. 7 You were running well; who hindered you from obeying the truth?



Fallen from Grace. You were running so well. Who hindered you? Satan would just as soon leave Christians living their Christian life in their Christian flesh; working as hard as they can, and never breaking thru in the Spirit.



The definition of a double message is: while in a conversation, there are two things being said at the same time. There are two things involved. While one thing is being communicated, another thing is being felt. For instance, someone may say the words, "I love you," but with an angry, indifferent tone. There are two messages at the same time. You're hearing the words, "I love you," but the feeling is the opposite. When we get double messages, what it does is it causes confusion. You can't always sort it out. And the characteristic of a double message is that the two things being said contradict each other. The irony is for us is when we get a double message from someone, instead of taking the time and sorting it out by asking them, "what do you mean." Generally, what we do is we live trying like crazy to reconcile the tension in the double message almost as if they can live together as equal and it can really be okay. You're left living in a limbo -- between what is said and what you are really feeling is being said (the opposite).



The Galatians had received and fallen prey to a double message. They had been wonderfully saved. They had received the Holy Spirit of God. You could see the work of the Holy Spirit thru them as God was demonstrating thru their lives and He transformed them with love and patience and joy and peace. The internal work of the Holy Spirit had begun for these people. And it was characterized by freedom and joy.



Then the "Judy-izers" came and they said, "Praise the Lord! You're saved. I'm really glad that that happened. It's wonderful. Isn't God good? That's just great. Ah, yes, BUT NOW that you're in, now that you've passed the salvation test and you know that it's all by faith, what you NEED TO KNOW NOW my dear friend, is that now that you're in, here are some rules that you need to keep, and here are some little rituals that you need to observe. If you really want to be a Christian of course you'll have to be circumcised. If you really want to be a Christian, of course, you have to join the church. If you really want to be a Christian, you have to give more money. If you really want to be a good Christian, you have to get a little more involved; you need to do this external thing that will prove to everyone else around you that you really are in. You gotta come not only to the morning service, but all the other services as well, and participate in as much as you can."



There's nothing wrong will all these things . . . .UNLESS that activity that you do is done because you think that somehow by doing it you can get God to like you more, to love you more, to accept you more, to be a really "good" Christian, I'll do this external thing.



The result of this kind of mindset is a double message. The double message is this: the Christian life, dear friend, is lived by faith. It is lived by the Holy Spirit of God coming into you taking His residence in you and beginning to express Himself out. . . BUT REALLY YOU LIVE BY THE LAW. The double message is this: The Christian life is a life of God's gracious giving and the Holy Spirit's empowering . . .BUT THE REAL TRUTH IS THIS -- IT'S UP TO YOU, BUDDY. IT'S UP TO YOU.

So, we'll "talk" about grace and we'll "talk" about faith and we'll "talk" about the Holy Spirit (some times) of God in you moving thru you, producing fruit and freedom and producing holiness, BUT THE BOTTOM LINE IS ALL THOSE THINGS REALLY MEAN IT'S UP TO YOU. YOU GOTTA DO IT. WORK REAL HARD.



You felt set free when you first got saved. You felt excited. You felt full of Jesus. This can even be illustrated with a worship service. During praise, my heart gets so lifted, I see Jesus real clear. And I think all the things I'm worried about and all the things I'm consumed in are just trivial things, they're external things that I've allowed myself to get bogged down in and my freedom is gone. I see Jesus real clear sometimes and I feel real sensitive to Him and I feel real free and real alive. BUT then there's that "double message" that comes flying right behind you.



We'll "talk" of grace and Spirit, but the truth is "you better do it right." It's not up to the Spirit at all, it's up to you. It's up to you. "You own it." The result: While you know you are a Christian and there's nothing in the world to convince you otherwise . . .while you are a Christian, in your life, there is no joy . . .there is no joy. Paul's greatest concern for the them was "what happened to that sense of blessing you had?" There's no joy, no life, no freedom and there is no victory, even tho you seek after it with tears and try as hard as you can to be a good Christian . . . you just work so hard and you begin to think, "something's missing. Something's off! Is this all there is?" We just keep on striving and keep on working, hoping nobody will notice you are living a totally defeated Christian life. You're even wondering if this is real?!



And then to that Paul says this . . . (into that double message) Paul says: "It was for freedom that Christ set you free. Keep standing firm in that freedom." Don't you "buy" the double message. Get on one track. You can't have it both ways. It is either Spirit, or it is flesh. It is either law or it is grace. It is either external control (as a Pastor, getting people to do things you want them to do) or it is internal control (the Spirit of God getting them to do what He wants them to do.) You can't have both. And if you mix them at all, it's OVER. It's over.



In fact, Paul says if you try to mix law and grace, if you come at people with this double message ("Oh, yes, it's Spirit, but it's really you.") if you come at people with this double message you have not just confused the Gospel, you have DESTROYED the Gospel. It is NO LONGER the Gospel. Paul called it a different Gospel. The double message may sound just like Christianity . . . but it isn't. Galatians 5:2-6 says if you start living this double message, Christ is of no benefit to you . . .you are under obligation to keep the whole law . . . you are severed from Christ . . .you are fallen from Grace. Pretty heavy stuff.

Favorite YouTube Clips

Some favorite YouTube videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-N_HueFxMI -- Charles Stanley (10 min) teaching on "Legalism." Clip from the preaching of Dr Charles Stanley. Many churches become legalistic when they attribute the keeping of rules to salvation, if a christian fails to perform the standards they are taught they have failed to keep saved.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h91guqkL2xM -- Charles Stanley (3:25 min) "Our Position
In Christ."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1kjb_QY8_o -- What is Spiritual Abuse? (10 min) This video isn't only about the pain & harm caused by heresy. It's also about inappropriate & harmful *methods* of ministry taking place at doctrinally orthodox assemblies.

Earnestly Contend . . .

Jude 1:3 (NIV) says, "Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.

Contend? Is Jude actually promoting contentiousness?

Definition:
con·ten·tious (kən ten′s̸həs) adjective = always ready to argue; quarrelsome; of or marked by contention; provoking or likely to provoke controversey; militant

I heard a good teaching today at church about our attitudes and not being quarrelsome. And I agree. We should suffer default (I Corinthians 6:5-8) rather than participate in PETTY arguments and issues. Yet, in keeping the doctrine of grace uncorrupted, and the purity of the Good News, we are also called to contention. We are called to expose the toxic leaven that kills our joy and renders us powerless and offends the Spirit of Grace. We are accountable one to another "not to turn traitor to Him Who has called us by the Grace of Christ by embracing a variant message! It is not a minor variation, you know; it is completely other, an alien message, a no-message, a lie about God," (Gal. 1:6 -- The Message).

Galatians 1:6-9 (LBV) says: "I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who called you to himself through the loving mercy of Christ. You are following a different way that pretends to be the Good News but is not the Good News at all. You are being fooled by those who deliberately twist the truth concerning Christ.
8 Let God’s curse fall on anyone, including us or even an angel from heaven, who preaches a different kind of Good News than the one we preached to you. 9 I say again what we have said before: If anyone preaches any other Good News than the one you welcomed, let that person be cursed."

Paul says that we are not to be fooled by anyone, no matter who it is, even if it were an angel, that promotes any other way of salvation other than by the Grace and Gift of God. This is a legitamate cause for contention.

Matthew Henry's Commentary:
1:6-9 Those who would establish any other way to heaven than what the gospel of Christ reveals, will find themselves wretchedly mistaken. The apostle presses upon the Galatians a due sense of their guilt in forsaking the gospel way of justification; yet he reproves with tenderness, and represents them as drawn into it by the arts of some that troubled them. In reproving others, we should be faithful, and yet endeavour to restore them in the spirit of meekness.(I want this, Lord.) Some would set up the works of the law in the place of Christ's righteousness, and thus they corrupted Christianity. The apostle solemnly denounces, as accursed, every one who attempts to lay so false a foundation. All other gospels than that of the grace of Christ, whether more flattering to self-righteous pride, or more favourable to worldly lusts, are devices of Satan. And while we declare that to reject the moral law as a rule of life, tends to dishonour Christ, and destroy true religion, we must also declare, that all dependence for justification on good works, whether real or supposed, is as fatal to those who persist in it. While we are zealous for good works, let us be careful not to put them in the place of Christ's righteousness, and not to advance any thing which may betray others into so dreadful a delusion."

We need to have the freedom to "revelate" with one another, to debate in a normal dialogue if we disagree or have any questions regarding doctrine. Fellow believers should never question loyalty, respect, spirituality, maturity, because we contend for the Good News. Our questions or statements, what a good friend of mine calls "revelating," is actually healthy and can be used for an interdependant system of checks and balances. It takes secure people, whose identities are not tied up in anything but Christ. In fact, this would be a sign of a healthy, non-abusive church . . .the ability to disagree respectfully and encourage dialogue that would support an uncorrupted Gospel.

I love Martin Luther and his contention for the Gospel of Grace. He nailed his objections soundly to the door of his mother church. HE PROTESTED! I think of Acts 15:1, which says, "It wasn't long before some Jews showed up from Judea insisting that everyone be circumcised: "If you're not circumcised in the Mosaic fashion, you can't be saved. Paul and Barnabas were up on their feet at once in fierce protest." What's that? FIERCE PROTEST? In other versions, it says, "no small disputation." (Oh, they must have been "wounded, or carrying baggage -- or some other 'write-off') And Jesus Himself, confronted this poison, calling men "vipers!" When it comes to the truth, the Truth Himself, contended. In fact, this is the very cause for persecution -- preaching Christ Crucified alone. The natural man hates it. The Spirit of Anti-Christ campaigns against it daily. . . in the world and . . in our churches.

So I say, if you get a "red flag" concerning doctrine, please don't come under any "no talk rule." Don't come under any control, but be compelled for His Glory and His Truth and His Good News! We must earnestly contend for the Good News Gospel concerning which we read in the New Testament, the only gospel that has the power to save (Rom. 1: 16).

My First Love

I am so "blasted" right now in God because Doug is playing "My First Love" sung by Jeremy Sinnott . . . I LOVE this song . . .and God's Love is all over our house! YEAH!!! Here are the blessed lyrics (just add a flute and guitar):

My first Love is a blazing fire,
I feel His powerful Love in me.
For He has kindled a flame of passion,
AND I WILL LET IT GLOW IN ME;
And in the night I will sing Your praise; My Love.

AND LIKE A CHILD I WILL DANCE IN YOUR PRESENCE
Oh, let the joy of Heaven pour down on me.
I STILL REMEMBER THE FIRST DAY I MET YOU,
AND I DON'T EVER WANT TO LOSE THAT FIRE!
MY FIRST LOVE!

My first love is rushing river,
A waterfall that will never cease;
And in the torrent of tears and laughter,
I feel a healing power released.
AND I WILL DRAW FROM YOUR WELL OF LIFE, MY LOVE.
AND IN YOUR GRACE I'LL BE SATISFIED, MY LOVE.
(cuz it's sufficient, Lord!)

Restore the years of the church's slumber,
Revive the fire that has grown so dim;
Renew the love of those first encounters,
That we may come alive again;
And we will rise like the dawn throughout the earth!
Announcing Your Return!!!

(Revelations 2:4 -- this was a "stellar" [outstanding in performance] church as far as works were concerned, but they placed their emphasis in their missions, programs and behavior (spiritual performances) over their intimacy and relationship with their Savior -- it started to become about them. But it's about Jesus and our extremely personal and passionate walk with Him. I like verse 2, where Jesus commended them for exposing false apostles . . .so we CAN disagree with leaders and make them accountable for their teachings and doctrines, huh? :) Noticing a problem, shouldn't make you" the problem.")

"If . . . .Then" Versus "Yeah and Amen!"

Joy!!! There is such joy in knowing the Truth of the Grace of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It brings such RELIEF! An oasis from the FUTILITY of religiousity and "spiritual performance."
I get so tired of the same 'ole, same 'ole messages that reflect the Old Covenant of "trying hard to do what God commands." As a recovering legalist, I turn off now to messages of any kind that endorses this sometimes subtle, yet damaging deception, and very popular form of legalism -- a PERFORMANCE-BASED Christianity.

A legalist = a "spiritual performer"

The Old Covenant was full of "if . . . then" promises. An "if . . . then" promise means that God was saying, "If you will do this, then I will do that." The people had to fulfill the "ifs" before God would fulfill the "thens." For example, "if you commit your house or possession to the Lord, He will then protect them." The New Covenant in Christ has "ifs and thens" also, but under this New Covenant ALL THE "IFS" HAVE BEEN FULFILLED AND COMPLETED IN JESUS CHRIST so that the "thens" can be fulfilled and completed in us!

I love 2 Corinthians 1:20! It gave me such revelation and joy not long ago. . .
2 Corinthians 1:20 (NIV) says,"For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God."

(LBV) says, "For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” And through Christ, our “Amen” (which means “Yes”) ascends to God for his glory.

When I finally received this understanding, I couldn't wait to go thru all the "Ifs" everywhere in the Bible, and I read the Promises of God books in a new "light" -- the Light of Christ, because it was such a joy to know that Jesus has fulfilled them all and I, a believer, get to reap all the "thens!" THIS IS GOOD NEWS!!! Clearly, this verse says that ALL the promises of God are fulfilled -- they are "yea and amen" -- in Jesus Christ. Jesus IS the "yeah and amen," having fulfilled all the "if . . . then" requirements to all the promises of God. Now THIS would make for a great message to edify and build up the Body of Christ, wouldn't it? It brings hope and joy and celebration and awe in the gifts and MERCY of God.

Legalism endorses unbelief and the minimizes the mercy of God!

The Old Covenant falls short in glorifying the merciful God we really do have! Jeus IS HIS GlORY! Now, because of Jesus, we can see the Perfection of God as noted in Matthew 5:45: "For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike." (He can do this now because of Jesus!) And here's the Good News . . . one of the NT "Ifs . . . thens" . . . .If you are IN CHRIST, everything is already given to you as a Gift of His Grace and Mercy. "For if, while we were yet enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, how much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life." (Romans 5:10) We shall be saved, kept saved, and kept safe! We've inherited all the promises of God thru Jesus! Now the Father is our Father and He watches all things concerning our lives. We never have to bargain or do anything to get Him to respond to us. Jesus has already done did it all!! If you are In Christ, are are IN!!!

Legalism is like constantly trying to "get into a room" that you are already in. That's why it seems so hard. Have you ever seen someone trying really hard to get into a room he's already in? What freedom comes when that person realizes that he's already in! Then he can REST and RECEIVE and I know, as a recovering legalist, that person will never want to leave that glorious room. No teaching or mindset or scripture or anything will draw a recovering legalist out of the room of relief and grace . . . he/she is firmly planted. The Truth of God's Grace has set us free from that heavy yoke of OT spiritual performance, requirements and qualifications! YAHOO!

Where are you placing your faith and hope? In your performance ("If . . . Then)? Or in the Grace of God (the Yeah and Amen) IN Jesus Christ? Jeff Harkin, author of "Grace Plus Nothing" says it has been his observation that many of the most committed believers in the Body of Christ are under PILES of "if . . . then" teaching. And I agree. He asks this question, "Are you being vexed by the ever-growing list of "ifs" that you are being taught you must perform in order to obtain the blessings of God upon your life? The vexation is there to bring you back to simple grace. The Holy Spirit is allowing you to feel vexed in order to tell you something is wrong."

Legalism tries to "obligate God," which is in fact nothing short of a veiled attempt to manipulate God or to rule and therefore BE GOD. It has inferior motives: Fear of punishment and desire for reward. . . . to mature in grace is to be freed from REWARD as a Primary Motivation to obey God. This is why legalism can never break the mastery of sin.

Grace renders these inferior motives of fear of punishment and desire for reward either impotent or irrelevant. And Grace says, "We love, because He first loved us" (john 4:19) Thus love as a response to grace. The UNCONDITIONAL (no strings attached, no hidden agendas) Love of God IN Jesus Christ is the ONLY Place where worldly motives (fear of punishment and desire for reward) can be superseded by Godly motivation.

We have the Spirit of God within us (greater is He!) so that we may discern between true and false teaching. True shepherds point to the Chief Shepherd! False teachers are preoccupied with performance. . . using OT Scriptures most of the time. Works righteousness glorifies man! Grace righteousness glorifies God! Grace eliminates boasting ("I have a big ministry because I pray 5 hours every day!" or "God gave me this great job and/or money because I tithe." or "God answered my prayer because I fasted." How 'bout God takes care of me in all ways because of Jesus!

Here's a simple rule of thumb I've learned recently for discerning teaching: The actual source of all teaching and doctrine is revealed in whom it glorifies. In other words, teaching that emphasizes success through YOUR great discipline or even success through YOUR great faith also tends to aim the glory at YOU. Thus, it is frequently true that faith in faith glorifies your faith, and faith in self-discipline glorifies your self-discipline. BUT faith in God's grace and in the gift of His righteousness glorifies God, because A GIFT CANNOT BE BOUGHT OR EARNED; it can only be received.

All the above has come from my heart, notes from my journal, and highlighted notes from Jeff Harkin's book, "Grace Plus Nothing;" and notes from Dave Johnson's book, "The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse."

Spiritual abuse? Yes, that's why legalism is so dangerous. There's an equation that abusers use . . .legalism + fear = control. True shepherds point to the Chief Shepherd. They do not yell at you, or cause you to feel like you're not "doing enough." They should never condescend or treat you like a sub-Christian and/or children. There are no levels. (You are either IN Christ or not. You either have the Son or not.) When they speak of levels or higher places, we are being lied to. You are complete in Christ! You have the Holy Spirit to lead you and guide you and teach you and give you clear discernment. You have all the promises in God fulfilled by Christ!

Where are all the edifying messages about the Holy Spirit and His power in this Life in Christ? Where are all the faith-building message about what we have in Christ? The adequacy of Jesus!? His grace being sufficient for us? Anti-legalism messages? Jesus said many times, "beware, of the leaven of the pharisees." Why put so much emphasis on the outword (as in any religion: buddhist, islam, hindu, jewish, and cults like mormonism, jehovah witnesses, FLDS, etc.)? Where is Christianity any different? According to Jesus, we can all clean up the outside, but what about mercy, justice and faith? Why work so hard for what is so freely given? The Fruit of the Holy Spirit is given to us! We have something all the "religions" do not -- The New Life in Christ delivered and maintained by the precious Holy Spirit as a Gift of the Mercy of God the Father.

We lack NOTHING in Christ!! Legalism replaces rest in God. Therefore, resting in God recovers me from legalism. And let us now rest in, "If Jesus . . . then Fulfillment." :)