Music From Last Week | 3.16.11

Your Love Never Fails | Jesus Culture

Album: “Your Love Never Fails”

Love Came Down | Brian Johnson

Album: “Love Came Down – Live Acoustic Worship In the Studio”

How He Loves | Kim Walker

Album: “We Cry Out”

Music From Last Week | 3.2.11

My Soul Longs for You | Misty Edwards

Album: “Relentless”

Love Came Down | Brian Johnson

Album: “Love Came Down – Live Acoustic Worship In the Studio”

I Love Your Presence | Bethel Live

Album: “Here is Love”

No More Curse

I spoke this past Wednesday night on the topic of Heaven.  The Bible has much to say about where we will spend eternity and it says that it is not a boring place at all. In fact it is will even be more thrilling and more satisfying than we could ever imagine.  However, it seems like most Christians view it with little anticipation for what is to come.  As John Eldredge says in The Journey of Desire, “Nearly every Christian I have spoken with has some idea that eternity is a boring, unending church service.”  Why do we have such misconceptions?

I believe there is one central explanation for why so many of us have such a vague, negative, and uninspired view of Heaven: the work of Satan.  Jesus said of the devil, “When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” John 8:44. And we see in Scripture that some of Satan’s favorite lies are about Heaven. Revelation 3:16 tells us that Satan “opened his mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven.” Our enemy slanders three things: God’s person, God’s people and God’s place—namely, Heaven. See Satan need not convince us that Heaven doesn’t exist. If he can just get us to think of it as boring, he’ll rob us of the joy and anticipation that will motivate us to share our faith with others.

There is one verse I want to focus on to restore hope in us about how great our eternal home will be.  Revelation 22:3 says of Heaven that, “No longer will there be any curse.” If the Bible said nothing else about life in the eternal Heaven, the New Earth, these words would tell us a vast amount. No more curse.  After Adam sinned, God said, “Cursed is the ground (earth) because of you.” (Gen. 3:17) When the curse is reversed we will no longer engage in “painful toil” (v.17) but will enjoy satisfying work.  No longer will the earth yield “thorns and thistles” (v. 18), defying our dominion and repaying us for corrupting it.  No longer will we “return to the ground…from which we were taken” (v.19), swallowed up in death as unrighteous stewards who ruined ourselves and the earth.   The curse will be reversed. This is why Jesus came. Romans 8:2 says that Christ came to remove the curse of sin and death.  He is the second Adam who will undo the damage brought by the first Adam. (1 Cor. 15:22; Romans 5:15-19).  The total work of Christ is nothing less than to redeem this entire creation from the effects of sin.

The removal of the curse means that people, culture, the earth, and the universe will again be as God intended. People will once again walk with God and experience Him face-to-face.  People will experience the fulfillment of relationships that are free from pain, mistrust and lies. They will also be satisfied with their work like never before. Christ came to restore everything that was taken away at the Fall. As someone once asked, “How far does Christ’s redemptive work extend?” Answer: As far as the curse is found!  So if you want to get a picture of Heaven, you don’t need to look up at the clouds; you simply need to look around you and imagine what all this would be like without sin and death and suffering and corruption.

-Jason McDaniel

Music From Last Week | 2.23.11

Your Love Never Fails | Jesus Culture

Album: “Your Love Never Fails”

Beautiful Exchange | Hillsong Live

Album: “A Beautiful Exchange”

Revelation Song | Gateway Worship

Album: “Living For You”

Music From Last Week | 2.16.11

Come and Let Your Presence | Merchant Band

Album: “The World Can Wait”

Revelation Song | Gateway Worship

Album: “Living For You”

Fire Burns (Arise) | Jon Owens

Album: “ARIZE LIVE”

Laying on of Hands

Last week Pastor Taylor from King’s Park International Church spoke on the Laying on of Hands. This is the fourth of the six foundation doctrines of the Christian faith listed in Hebrews chapter 6. At first glance the ”laying on of hands” struck me as unusual because, while I’d heard a lot about the first three foundation doctrines (repentance, faith and baptisms), I had heard very little about this one. If you were unfamiliar like I was about the laying on of hands I hope last Wednesday changed that.

To briefly recap, the laying on of hands is used throughout the scripture to: transmit blessings or spiritual gifts, release healing, commission, fill with the Holy Spirit, set people in leadership and to send people out.

We see it in Genesis 48:13-22 when Jacob blesses Joseph’s sons by placing his hands on their heads and in the ministry of Jesus when he blessed the little children (Luke.10:13-16) and gave sight to the blind (Matt. 20:29-34). With a little bit of searching it’s clear to see that this practice is found throughout the scripture. However, along with the clear Biblical precedent, another reason why I believe the laying on of hands is important is simply because we are human.

As humans physical touch is one of the ways we communicate. With our hands we not only greet one another but also comfort, congratulate and encourage each other. Our hands play an important role in relationships of all sorts and it seems very natural that the One who created us would also have a purpose for them as well. He does!

This is God’s encouragement to us through the Apostle Paul:

“Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.”  Romans 6:13

“I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing.” 1 Timothy 2:8

With this in mind let us commit our hands daily to the LORD as His holy instruments of righteousness. Let us exercise wisdom as we use our hands not only to comfort, congratulate and encourage but also to bless one another for God’s glory and trust that He will breathe His supernatural life and power into them.

- Felix

Music From Last Week | 2.9.11

Emmanuel | Jon Owens

Album: “ARIZE LIVE”

Isaiah 6 | Jon Owens

Album: “ARIZE LIVE”

Fire Fall Down | Hillsong United

Album: “United We Stand”

The Law of Faith

Last week I spoke at ENCM on “The Law of Faith,” and I wanted to clarify two of the central themes of what we were studying.

We started our journey in Romans 1 and explored alternatives to living by faith in God, namely living by instinct and common sense.  From there we briefly reasoned that people must also not attempt to be righteous by keeping all the “laws” of our religion. Law can only prick the conscience, bring awareness of wrong doing, but it can never liberate you. On the contrary, it actually condemns you for being a law-breaker.

Consequently, God established a new kind of righteousness, apart from the law, to which the Law testifies.

God sent Jesus to live a righteous life, then die as a substitution for us, an atoning sacrifice. He took the written code that was against us and nailed it to the cross. By trusting in Jesus’ sacrifice, we can believe that God’s anger and judgement have been satisfied and God will wipe our old sins away as we come under Christ’s salvation and leadership.

Two clarifying points:

1. Paul says in Romans 3 that “there is no difference” between Jews and Gentiles.  ”Everyone has sinned and falls short of God’s glory”. So he poses the question, “Where then is boasting?”  Who can brag about their spiritual maturity or “knowledge”? No one.  Boasting is excluded, Paul says, based on “the law of faith.” (Romans 3:27)

The New International Version translators do not include the words “law of faith” in verse 27 for some reason, but the original Greek text clearly uses the word “nomos” and should read “the law of faith.”

You see, the law of faith existed before the Law of Moses. People have always had to trust in God. Abraham was righteous because he believed. Noah was righteous because he believed. Even Abel, who was slaughtered by his brother, was righteous because he trusted God. Abel’s parents used fig leaves to cover themselves, but God said it wasn’t good enough. God killed an animal and used the skin to cover them. Later, Abel would come to God with the kind of blood sacrifice God wanted, even though no human had ever done that before. Years later, Noah would also offer animal sacrifices, though he was “a man of the soil”. (Genesis 8:20, 9:20).

When people leave their natural/cultural tendencies, and come to God through the way he has prescribed through faith, he counts us as righteous.

2. As we truly believe, we also correspondingly repent (turn from things we know are wrong). There is no believing without repenting. If you are not willing to change, you don’t really understand the message.

I hope you are encouraged and growing strong in your faith.  There is no other way to live, for “the righteous will live by faith.”

- Charles Kiefer

Music From Last Week | 2.2.11

Emmanuel | Jon Owens

Album: “ARIZE LIVE”

My Soul Longs for You | Misty Edwards

Album: “Relentless”

Love Came Down | Brian Johnson

Album: “Love Came Down – Live Acoustic Worship In the Studio”

Repentance is a Good Gift