This Sunday service Pastor (Mrs) Silvia Lia Leigh preached another sermon in the series titled ‘Love is The New Commandment’. Her main scriptures were taken from the books of Mattew 26:1-16, and John 12:1-8.

THE AGAPE LOVE OF GOD

In Greek, there are three words for love. Eros refers to sexual love. Philio refers to friendly attachment. Agape means unconditional sacrificial love. In the New Testament, the word Love appears about 200 times, and it is always ‘agape’ love. This Love is not just a feeling. It is the highest, most pure form of love, born not out of natural attraction or obligation, but a willful choice and a command to be obeyed.  It is the unselfish, pure, powerful, and sacrificial love that desires the best in another person. This love is best expressed as the Fatherly Love of God for human beings. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (Jn 3:16). This is the Gospel: God the Father sent God the Son to become a Man and die on behalf of sinners, to save them. This agape Love of God ignites love in the heart of the believers. It also helps them to love their ‘neighbors’ as they love themselves. The unbelievers may be religious, but they do not know this agape love. It is a gift given only to the children of God, who are saved by grace and thru faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Agape love is a sacrificial love that saves, unites, and heals. It is the love of God that we see through the cross of Jesus Christ. This love saves and restores humanity in the face of sin and death. “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (Jn 15:13). Because we are born sinners, agape love does not come naturally to us. But because God is Love, as His children, we learn how to love God and people. The description of love appears in 1 Corinthians 13. These are the basic attributes of agape love: It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, and it keeps no record of wrongs. Love is unconcerned with the self and concerned with the greatest good of another. Agape love requires faithfulness, commitment, courage, strength, wisdom, faith, and sacrifice. When we love others, we do it expecting nothing in return from them. Love trusts God alone to respond and reward the sacrifice. Selah!

THE DANGER OF HYPOCRISY

One of Love’s greatest enemies is the religious spirit of hypocrisy. Jesus warned His disciples: “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy” (Lk 12:1). This is the warning of love! Hypocrisy is defined as the practice of pretending to believe something that you don’t really believe. It is a ‘double standard’ behavior that contradicts what you claim to believe or to feel. Hypocrisy is acting. It is a cover up. For example, you hate The Bible, but you come to church and sing praises to God. Or you hate somebody, but you greet him with a forced smile. Hypocrisy is dangerous because it is powered by seducing spirits, who kill, steal, and destroy. Nothing destroys your testimony as a Christian more than hypocrisy. Once people discover that you are ‘pretending’, they will never listen to you. For love is always faithful and true. “Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful” (PV 27:6). Hypocrisy leads to betrayal. The greatest traitor among men is Judas Iscariot. He sold Jesus for 30 silver coins, the price of a slave. In the Garden, he led soldiers to arrest His Master whom he identified with a kiss. “Now His betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him.” 49 Immediately he went up to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed Him. 50 But Jesus said to him, “Friend, why have you come?” Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and took Him” (Matt 26:48-50). Even at this tragic moment, Jesus still loved Judas and called him ‘friend’. Amazing love!

Living the Christian life is not easy. There is always a danger of becoming a hypocrite. For example, you know God’s Word, but you are slow in applying it practically in your life. Truth must be obeyed, totally, instantly, and joyfully. Truth obeyed produces roots and fruits in your heart. It starts to grow. It establishes your heart in the faith. Truth ignored will fade away from your memory and will judge you before God. Many people like to come to church. They love the music, the general peaceful and joyful atmosphere. They are emotionally attracted to the Gospel. But they have not welcomed the Gospel. The Word has not produced roots in their hearts. There are no visible fruits expressed in a changed holy character. This is hypocrisy. Listen to God: “As for you, son of man, the children of your people are talking about you beside the walls and in the doors of the houses; and they speak to one another, everyone saying to his brother, ‘Please come and hear what the word is that comes from the Lord.’ 31 So they come to you as people do, they sit before you as My people, and they hear your words, but they do not do them; for with their mouth they show much love, but their hearts pursue their own gain. 32 Indeed you are to them as a very lovely song of one who has a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument; for they hear your words, but they do not do them. 33 And when this comes to pass—surely it will come—then they will know that a prophet has been among them” (Ezekiel 33:30-33). You can deceive men, but not God.

How do we defeat hypocrisy? First, recognize it and confess it. Then pray that God helps you to repent. Repentance is God’s gift. It is a work of grace. Go to the Cross. Gaze long on Christ Crucified. Jesus did not act on the Cross. He really died there. In the wilderness, when the rebellious people died from poisonous snakes, God told Moses to make a copper snake on a pole. God said that anyone who is bitten by a snake should look at that metal snake lifted high, and he shall live (Nu 21:8, 9). Jesus said that in the same way, He will be lifted from the earth on a Cross. He will take the sins of men upon Himself and die on that cross. He will become a curse that people may live. Love manifests in the Old and the New Testament. Love is as Old as eternity and as new as time. “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (Jn 3:14-16). As Moses… so the Son of Man! The Ten Commandments have become the New Commandment of Love! To see love, go to the Cross. Jesus says: “Look to Me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other” (Is 45:22). This is the look that brings eternal life and healing. This is not a casual look. It is a long gaze that triggers spiritual understanding and faith in Jesus. This look ignites God’s fire in your heart. This look will kill your flesh, purify your soul, and will make you worship God alone! Come, let us go and see Jesus! Look- Love- Life! Halleluiah!

RELIGION BYPASSES LOVE

“But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs and pass by justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone” (Lk 11:42). Our Lord condemned the Pharisees, the religious rulers. He said that because they love praise from men, everything they do is for men to see them as religious. They pay their tithes even from the herbs in the garden. But ‘they pass by justice and the love of God’. The word ‘pass by’ is also translated to ignore, to neglect, to bypass or to disregard. They ignore the justice of God. They do not hate and punish sin. They do not encourage the oppressed. Also, they do not practice the Love of God. They are greedy haters, oppressors, and proud people. Our Lord did not condemn the ‘sinners’, but He cursed these religious people. This is the warning of Love!

LOVE’S SONG IN DISAPPOINTMENT

“Now, let me sing to my Well-beloved a song of my Beloved regarding His vineyard: My Well-beloved has a vineyard on a very fruitful hill. 2 He dug it up and cleared out its stones and planted it with the choicest vine. He built a tower in its midst, and also made a winepress in it; So, He expected it to bring forth good grapes, but it brought forth wild grapes. 3 “And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, Judge, please, between Me and My vineyard. 4 What more could have been done to My vineyard that I have not done in it? Why then, when I expected it to bring forth good grapes, did it bring forth wild grapes? 5 And now, please let Me tell you what I will do to My vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it shall be burned; And break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down. 6 I will lay it waste; It shall not be pruned or dug, but there shall come up briers and thorns. I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain on it.” 7 For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are His pleasant plant. He looked for justice, but behold, oppression; For righteousness, but behold, a cry for help” (Isaiah 5:1-7).

People who know God are both in awe of Him and in love with Him. Isaiah was that type of man. He has an intimate relationship with God. He speaks about His Beloved, who is God. Then God speaks by Himself. Isaiah feels what God feels. God hates evil. Isaiah hates evil too. If you love God, you must be passionately in love with Him. You will understand God’s anger and sadness coming from rejection. Our mistakes come from our low view of God. In the Old Testament, God’s love was bestowed on a country, Israel. God made a covenant with Israel to be together. But Israel broke God’s Commandments and heart. Since Christ died on the Cross and the Holy Spirit was poured down, the Church is now the object of God’s special love to men. Israel was called the wife of Jehovah. The Church is called the Bride of Christ. The wedding will be in the future when all things will reach their fulfilment. For now, we experience the romance of being in a mystical unity with Christ, the Head of the Church.

How does God love us?

*God’s love is total! The farmer tries his best for his vineyard. He chooses the best place, prepares the soil, surrounds the place, and builds a watchtower to protect his vineyard from enemies. He could do no more than this. Lesson: God the Father has given us everything. He has given us His Son, His Love, His Word, His Spirit, and all that we need for life and godliness. Love now waits for her harvest. But there is none… 

*God’s disappointment is total! Love is totally disappointed. With all the labor and care, there are no good fruits. The covenant curses between God and man shall manifest as drought, defeat, and wasted opportunities (read the curses of disobedience in Deuteronomy 28). The Lover (God) punishes Israel for the breaking of the covenant. He is totally justified to do that. Then, Isaiah surprises the people by saying that the vineyard is the house of Israel, the Temple, and the religious leaders in particular. God said that He will stop the worship and destroy His house. God said that one of the sweet fruits He was looking for was Justice. Justice is the state where people are treated fairly. The good people are rewarded, and the lawless ones are punished. God was expecting justice in the land, especially from the religious leaders. But He only found oppression and corruption. God was also looking for the sweet fruit called righteousness (godly character and behavior) but all He found was oppression. He heard the weak cry of help from the fainting victims. This is the cry of domestic violence victims, and others. Their hurt, their pain happened mostly in the church. But the cry of the oppressed was not heard by the leaders. Lesson: God hears your cry long before men hear it. Heaven listens to you! God will close a church just because of the cry of the oppressed in its midst.

Jesus uses this song for His parable of the Tenants in Matthew 21:33-46. But He focuses mostly on the wicked vinedressers. At harvest time, the Master sent to collect his share. But the wicked tenants beat and kill their master’s servants. Finally, they kill the Master’s Beloved Son. Jesus said that Isaiah ‘saw His glory’ in advance and spoke about the Beloved’s rejection in this song (Jn 12:41). Lesson: When we receive the Word of God, and we refuse to apply it, we are like the wicked tenants. When we disobey God’s Word, we crucify the Son of God all over again. Jesus said: ‘I am the true vine’ (Jn 15:1). In other words, He said: ‘I am the true Israel’. Jesus obeyed God’s Law. Jesus is fruitful. We too are fruitful because we are in Him. The key to success as a branch is in fruit bearing. God chose Israel to do good works. Israel refused to obey God. Now, the Church is to produce expected fruits, or good works for the glory of God. Lesson: even with all the labor of love, nobody knows the future of a plantation. Let me say this respectfully, not even God knows the future of His investments in us. This is one way to understand God’s disappointment. “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But when the desire comes, it is a tree of life” (PV 13:12). The word deferred means postponed, delayed hope. The word ‘sick’ means ‘weak’ heart. In spite of all His labor of love and high hopes, the vineyard produced only sour grapes, unfit to make sweet wine for the King.

THE GOOD WORK OF LOVE (Matt 26:1-16; Jn 12:1-8)

“Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, that He said to His disciples, 2 “You know that after two days is the Passover, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.” 3 Then the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders of the people assembled at the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, 4 and plotted to take Jesus by trickery and kill Him. 5 But they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people.” 6 And when Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, 7 a woman came to Him having an alabaster flask of very costly fragrant oil, and she poured it on His head as He sat at the table. 8 But when His disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste? 9 For this fragrant oil might have been sold for much and given to the poor.” 10 But when Jesus was aware of it, He said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a good work for Me. 11 For you have the poor with you always, but Me you do not have always. 12 For in pouring this fragrant oil on My body, she did it for My burial. 13 Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.” 14 Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 15 and said, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?” And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver. 16 So from that time he sought opportunity to betray Him” (Matt 26:1-16).

“Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead. 2 There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him. 3 Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil. 4 But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, who would betray Him, said, 5 “Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” 6 This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it. 7 But Jesus said, “Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial. 8 For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always” (Jn 12:1-8)

This event happened in the last week in the life of Jesus. It was just one week before the nails would be hammered in His hands. From now on, Love and Hatred, faith and unbelief, light and darkness will be divided forever. Jesus divides people. Jesus divides sheep from goats. He did not come to bring peace to the world, but a sword. Some men love and others hate Jesus. In this story there are two people who are symbols of this division between love and hatred. These are Mary and Judas. How can Jesus’ teaching produce a Mary and a Judas? It is the same today. People who listen to the words of Jesus become either saved or religious hypocrites. Here we learn that worship always has priority. In Luke 7, there is a similar story. Jesus was invited to the house of Simon of Leper. Surely this one was an ex-leper because a leper could not stay in the town. He was healed by Jesus. He invited Jesus to honor Him. But the Pharisees became angry when the ‘sinful’ woman worshipped Jesus with her tears. This expensive fragrant oil was used as room perfume or during burials, to cover the smell of the bodies. It was imported from India or China.

These are the five groups of people: Mary, Judas, the crowds, the religious Pharisees, and the true believers. Study them! Mary brought an alabaster flask containing a very costly perfumed oil. He poured it on the head of Jesus. Judas was the first one to complain that this is a waste of money (Jn 12:4-6). The other disciples followed his lead and also complained. They thought that Mary should have sold this perfume and give the money to the poor. Jesus rebukes them saying: “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a good work for Me” (Matt 26:10). This is only the second time somebody on earth gives Him an expensive gift. The first time it was when He was born. The wise men brought Him gifts fir for a king: gold, myrrh, and frankincense. Now Mary does the same. Jesus appreciates it. He tells the disciples that Mary is sensitive to the Holy Spirit when they are not. With the eyes of the Spirit, she saw His death coming and prepared His Body for burial. Only Love can see the future and act on it. Twelve times Jesus told His disciples that He will soon die, but they rejected the Word. Jesus said that worshipping Him is a greater love than taking care of the poor. This is a deep revelation. It is part of the preaching of the true Gospel. Loving Jesus is always first. Out of the overflow of that love, we then love men and give to the poor. Many churches have reversed the order. They preach what is called ‘the social gospel’ or ‘the prosperity gospel’ where the needs of men take preeminence. This is a serious error, and it grieves the Holy Spirit. Mary reminds us that worshipping Jesus is ‘a good work for Jesus’. It is a work that is highly rewarded by God. It becomes a true memorial to the glory of God even after we go to heaven. Love cannot be bought or sold. “Love cannot be drowned by oceans or floods. It cannot be bought–any offer would be scorned no matter how great” (SS 8:7; CEV).

Because the disciples were focused on money, they too saw Love as waste. But Jesus knows the value of Love. He receives Mary’s worship as ‘a good work’ done for Him alone. The words ‘good work’ is also translated as a beautiful and noble deed. Jesus promised that when the true Gospel is preached, Love will speak too. Love has a voice, and a fragrance no religious speech can quench. Lesson: Let nothing trouble you! It does not matter what men say, it does not matter what you feel, worship God with all your heart! Let the fire burn. Let the incense rise. Even right now… Jesus receives from your heart your love for Him. Your good work for Jesus will be remembered eternally!

Jesus calls Judas ‘a devil’ (Jn 6:70). He was greedy, materialistic, worldly, ambitious, and wicked. The more people loved Jesus, the more he hated Jesus because he was disappointed in Jesus. He was serving Jesus only to make money. The other disciples complained about the ‘waste’ of worship. Judas led them. Judas had leadership qualities. The other disciples trusted him. The fragrant oil was about 300 denarii. At that time, a worker’s day job was paid 1 denary. Mary’s oil is about the payment for a year’s job. Judas asked for 30 pieces of silver, about 4 times less than Mary’s expensive oil. Worship is the most expensive form of love. The closer you are to the truth, the more you shall be judged. If you are a thief, the worst place to be is in the church. By accepting Mary’s anointing Jesus confirmed that He will die and be buried. This act of worship was the last straw for Judas. He knew that Jesus would die and there is no more money for him. So, he chose to betray Jesus! Lesson: people can become proud and fall at the point of their strengths! Selah! A pastor, a worship leader, can become proud because of his success in ministry, and if he does not repent, he can fall. “Therefore, let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Cor 10:12). Selah!

The crowds in the room were superficial seekers. They wanted entertainment, to see the two people connected with the miracle: Jesus and Lazarus. The next day they shouted Hosannah. After that they shouted Crucify Him. Then we see the Pharisees who wanted to kill both Jesus and Lazarus. In the Jewish tradition, the only time women enter is to serve the food, not to interrupt the meal. Mary pours the oil on Jesus’ head or feet. The oil covers His body, head to toes. The extravagance of Mary is judged by men as a waste. They said that the money should be given to the poor. Worship is seen as waste. They criticized her sharply. They were very rude to her. Jesus said, ‘she did what she could’ (Mk 14:8). In other words, Mary does not have an army to defend me; she was not a lawyer to argue My case to the Sanhedrin… but she did what she could… She worshipped Me. This woman anointed Jesus for His burial. The Body was Jesus was not thrown into the common grave with the criminals. The Father did not allow the body of His Son to see corruption (Ps 16:10). He was buried with the rich (Is 53:9). The women came on the Resurrection day to complete the anointing of His body. But He was not there. Mary alone had the privilege to do that even before He died. Jesus said that she has done a good work for Me. Wherever the Gospel is preached, the act of this woman will be remembered. Jesus said I will make sure that her act of love will never be forgotten. In the day when the wicked betrayed Jesus, we see the glimpse of true love. Love shines through the shadows of unbelief and selfishness! Worship the Lord!

This Sunday service Pastor (Mrs) Silvia Lia Leigh preached another sermon in the series titled ‘Love is The New Commandment’. Her main scriptures were taken from the books of Isaiah 40:3-8; 1 Peter 1:22-25, John 16:5-11.

THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT – HE JUDGES THE LOVELESS WORLD

“But now I go away to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ 6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. 8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 of sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; 11 of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged” (Jn 16:5-11).

Just before the Cross, Jesus told His disciples that He will send the Holy Spirit, who will come in His name. The Holy Spirit is a Person, is God, and the greatest Helper the believer has. He is the Spirit of Love, Truth, and Freedom. Jesus said: “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” 33 They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?” 34 Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever” (Jn 8:32-35). The way the Holy Spirit makes a believes free, is by adopting him in Christ. A son is free. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of adoption and freedom. “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father” (Rom 8:14,15). Glory!

God the Father has planned salvation. He is in heaven. God the Son became a Man to execute the plan of salvation on earth. He is now also in heaven. The Holy Spirit is the only God on earth now. His main work is the glorify Jesus Christ. He makes salvation real to us through His Word. Without the Holy Spirit no man understands the Bible, no man can believe in Jesus. The Holy Spirit has many other functions. He leads believers into Truth and helps them to love. He gives them the power to run the race, to persevere to the end. Jesus said that the world cannot accept the Holy Spirit (Jn 14:17). The world is the system of men who ignore or oppose God and live like God does not exist. The Holy Spirit ‘convicts the world of sin, of righteousness and judgment’. In Greek, the word ‘convict’ means to expose, proving to be guilty, to rebuke, or to discipline.  

Jesus said that the Holy Spirit ‘testifies’ about Him. The Holy Spirit does not attract attention upon Himself. He directs all attention to the Lord Jesus Christ. He glorifies Jesus. “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. 27 And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning” (Jn 15:26, 27). By testifying of Jesus, of His Words, of His Person and His work of salvation on behalf of sinners, the Holy Spirit will prove wrong all who hate and reject Jesus. Darkness is proved to be evil when the light starts to shine. There are two opposing kingdoms: The world, with its ruler, the devil and the Kingdom of God whose King is Jesus. You cannot see the contrast between these two kingdoms except God’s light starts to shine. The revelation of Jesus Christ rebukes and condemns the world. Love condemns hatred, truth condemns lies, light condemns the darkness of sin.

Historically, the first time the Holy Spirit convicted the sinners was on the Day of Pentecost, when Peter was preaching. “Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” 38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Ac 2:37, 38). This conviction of the Holy Spirit is described as ‘they were cut to the heart’. In Greek, the word ‘cut’ is a violent word. It means to pierce thoroughly, to be stung (like by a serpent), to agitate violently, with anxiety, fear of judgment, and godly sorrow for their sins. Without this deep work of the Holy Spirit, these men will mock and reject Peter. But now, they were speechless. They were paralyzed with the fear of God. See how the Holy Spirit works as the Helper. He helps Peter to preach, to do ministry and see fruits in it. It manifested as salvation of souls. Peter became a fisher of men, as Jesus promised him. Since then, the Holy Spirit has been doing the same work in all sinners who gave their lives to Christ. Nothing and nobody else can do this work, except the Holy Spirit. Only the Holy Spirit can convict and later, comfort! Glory!

The Holy Spirit convicts the world about three things: sin, righteousness, and judgment.

*Conviction of sin: ‘Because the world does not believe in Jesus’. The Holy Spirit exposes and confronts the world’s unbelief and lack of love. Unbelief in Jesus is the greatest sin. The Holy Spirit does not only tell sinners about their sin. He ‘convicts’ them about their sins, proving that they are going to hell. In the past, sinners were judged by the Law, by the Ten Commandments. For example, if you are a murderer, you go to hell because of murder. If you are an adulterer, you go to hell because of adultery. But now, since Jesus died on the Cross, the judgment is not based on what sinners do or don’t do. The judgment now is given based on your rejection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Unbelief is now the reason why a sinner goes to hell. It is not because he is an adulterer, but because he has rejected the Savior. In the past, Law was the judge. Now, Love is the judge! Sin is found in the rejection of a relationship with the Lover of your soul. “If anyone does not love the Lord [does not obey and respect and believe in Jesus Christ and His message], he is to be accursed. Maranatha (O our Lord, come)!” (1 Cor 16:22). Practically, hating and rejecting Jesus is proved by hating our ‘neighbors’. These were men in need, and we had resources to help them. But we choose not to. This hatred of men is a sin against Judge Love. The Holy Spirit gives us all we need to prove our love for Jesus by helping and loving our neighbors. Even if you do not have money to give, you can at least pray for them who need help. Those who go to heaven, praise, and pray without ceasing. They are blessed! Selah!

*Conviction of righteousness, ‘because I go to My Father, and you see Me no more’. Righteousness means right standing before God. A sinner cannot ‘stand’ before a Holy God. As darkness cannot stand before Light, as sin cannot stand before Holiness, so hatred cannot stand before Love. Jesus became Man. He lived to show us what righteous living is. Practically, righteousness means Christian character, manifested in thoughts, words, and deeds. Only the Holy Spirit can work this type of righteousness, and only in a sinner who is saved by grace. This is called the process of sanctification, by which the believer becomes holy like God. Jesus became sin so that He can give us His Righteousness. This is called ‘imputed’ righteousness. The word ‘imputed’ means to credit something to another’s account. It is an exchange or a transfer (of money, for example). God used the infinite ‘account’ of Christ, to credit grace into our bankrupt account as sinners. This is the basis of our salvation, by grace and through faith. Because of God’ grace, and by faith in Christ crucified and resurrected, we are now freely justified by God. We do not merit it and we did not earn it by our good works. It is the gift of God. From the moment of justification, the believer starts to work out his salvation, by behaving righteously. Therefore, righteousness is always connected with a Person, our Lord, and Savior Jesus Christ. “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor 5:21). “But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption” (1 Cor 1:30).

The world lacks both imputed and imparted (sanctifying) righteousness. The Holy Spirit convicts the religious world. He is like a wind who blows away our self- righteousness. “All our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away” (Is 64:6). God’s Righteousness now is through faith in Jesus and His Gospel. For the believer, his righteousness is not by obeying the Law, but by faith in Christ. “But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe” (Rom3:21,22).

*Conviction of judgment, because ‘the ruler of this world is judged’. The Holy Spirit convicts the world of God’s judgment on sin. The first person to be judged was the devil. At the Cross, Jesus died on behalf of sinners, to save them from the bondage to the devil. At the Cross, the devil was ‘cast out’. Judge Love has condemned to death the chief Hater, the devil! The sinner who has faith in Jesus, by the grace of God, is free from the bondage of sin, and of Satan. He is also free from the curse of the Law. The Cross draws people to Jesus. “Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. 32 And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.” 33 This He said, signifying by what death He would die” (Jn 12:31-33). By His death, Jesus destroyed the power of the devil over men. “Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage” (Heb 2:14, 15). The Holy Spirit exposes the fact that the devil is a defeated foe. He is already judged. There is no redemption for the devil. One day, the devil will be permanently destroyed. “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever” (Rev 20:10). It is only by the Holy Spirit that we can believe this promise that will manifest in the future. By the resurrection of Jesus, the kingdom of the devil among men was totally destroyed. The sinners who reject Christ and insist to stay with the devil, will join him in hell. Religion cannot save you! No man can save you! Give your life to Christ!     

LOVE FREES YOU FROM THE CURSE OF THE LAW

“For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.” 11 But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.” 12 Yet the law is not of faith, but “the man who does them shall live by them.” 13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), 14 that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith” (Gal 3:10-14).

Apostle Paul says that in Christ we become free from sin and from the curse of the Law. God gave man His Law. God said: if you obey all My Commandments, I will bless you. If you break even one of My Commandments, I will curse you. In The Book of Deuteronomy 28 we read the blessings and obedience and the curses that follow the breaking of God’s Law. The curses manifest as sickness, poverty, defeat, loneliness, breaking of marriage, scattering in the world, lack of identity, no peace, no joy, fear of the future and many others. It is a fearful list. It is only in Christ, that we can be free from the curse of the Law. Meditate on the price Christ had to pay to give us this freedom, healing, and deliverance.  

To be free from the curse of the Law means at least two things: First, we are not under the Law. We are free from its (impossible) demands. The Law is not our Master or Judge anymore. Secondly, we shall not be judged on Judgment Day. The Law basically refers to the Ten Commandments. We are born sinners. The Law was our master. No sinner can obey God’s Law. The Law has no mercy. If you break one, you have broken all the Laws. Christ died to redeem us from the curse of the Law. To ‘redeem’ means to pay for the freedom of a slave. As sinners, we were slaves under the Law. In Christ, we do not have to obey the former master, the Law. We are now free from it. The Law does not require faith or love, only obedience. We now live by faith in Jesus. Jesus said: “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill” (Matt 5:17). Jesus perfectly obeyed God’s Law. That is the meaning that He fulfilled the Law. He is the only Man who obeyed God’s Law. He obeyed the Law actively all His life. He also obeyed the Law passively, when He chose to become sin and die for us. In this way He pleased God and accomplished what God intended when He gave man His Law. Because we are free from the curse of the Law, we shall not face God on His judgment seat. We shall not be judged based on the Law. “The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor 15:56, 57). Because we are free from the curse of the Law, we lose the fear of death and judgment. The Law is now in our hearts, and we shall be judged according to the Law of Love. But even though Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, we are not totally free from the Law itself. For example, ‘you shall not murder’ is a law that stands to the end of time, for all people, everywhere. Nine out of the Ten Commandments are repeated in the New Testament. Christians are not lawless. They have received the Holy Spirit so that they can now obey God’s Law, like Jesus did! Amen!

FREE TO LOVE AND FREE TO SERVE

“For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another! 16. I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another” (Gal 5:13-26).

Jesus died so that we are free from the bondage of sin and of the Law. This liberty is God’s gift to us. Liberty has two main enemies: legalism and license. Legalism is responsibility without freedom. License is freedom without responsibility. Both these extremes are wrong.

*Legalism is bondage to the Law. Legalists believe that they can obey the Law to be saved and go to heaven. They believe that they receive God’s approval because of their obedience. They believe that they can earn their salvation by doing good work. They focus more on obeying God’s Law than on a relationship with God. They add to God’s Law other human rules and regulations and count them as divine.

*License is another extreme. License is defined as freedom of action, but with disregard of any law. It is loose behavior and abuse of freedom. For example, some say that having sexual relationships with many people is ‘free love’. But this cannot be love. The reason is because love is always responsible and careful not to hurt others. The danger for Christians is that the freedom we have in Christ becomes ‘an opportunity for the flesh’ to manifest (Gal 5:13). In Greek, the word ‘opportunity’ means ‘a starting point’. It is a military term describing the base for the operation. Do not allow the freedom in Christ to become a foothold from where the devil will attack you. The devil tries to convince the believer to allow him to have a little space in his life. From there, he attacks with greater sins. The result is that believers backslide. They become wild in behavior, totally lacking discipline. They think that grace is given to indulge in sinful activities without any guilt. That is a form of spiritual slavery! Christ died to free us FROM SIN, not free TO SIN. The freedom from the Law is given so that we Love and serve one another in Love (Gal 5:13). The purpose of Freedom in Christ is love and serving others! If you hate men and refuse to serve them, you are taking your freedom for granted. The Holy Spirit is a free Spirit. “Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” (2 Cor 3:17). The Holy Spirit does not help those who practice legalism or license. God helps only those who use their freedom to love others, and to serve them for Christ’s sake.

The Holy Spirit brings at least two kinds of freedom to the believer:

*Freedom from sin. “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh” (Gal 5:16). To walk in the Spirit means to listen and obey the Holy Spirit. It means to live in the realm of grace. The promise is clear: if you abide in this realm of grace, ‘you shall not sin’. This describes the process of sanctification by which you become holy, like Christ. This sanctification is not by obeying any Law but by obeying the voice of a Person, God, the Holy Spirit. Sanctification is not mechanical. It is a relationship with God based on His leading. This freedom from sin releases the believer to be able to love and to serve others. Freedom from sin is not only negative. It is not enough to say: ‘I do not commit adultery’. You have to do more than that. You have to use the strength you wasted on past adultery to love others and serve them now. Love is the fulfillment of the Law. This ‘walk’ is total freedom from the guilt of sin and experiencing pure heavenly love!

*Freedom from the curse of the Law so that now, you keep the Law and Love people! The Law could not save sinners. The Law was a Teacher, a Tutor, who drove us to Christ. Once we knew Christ, the Law was not necessary again to be our teacher. “Before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. 24 Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor” (Gal 3:23-25). The Law did not disappear. In Christ, our liberty is not lawless. The sinner was UNDER THE LAW. Now, the believer is Christ, is ABOVE the Law, but not lawless. The Law is now a street of gold. Step by step, the Christian walks on the Law. The Holy Spirit leads him and empowers him to obey the Law. As a sinner, the Law was a rod to punish him. Now, the Law is a road that leads him to heaven. This walk of obedience is powered by Love. Jesus: “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (Jn 14:15). As you can see, the Law cannot save (cannot justify) but the Law helps in sanctification!!! We are therefore free from the bondage of the Law. But now, the Holy Spirit uses the Law to help us exercise our freedom to love, and not go astray into legalism or license. Now, faith in Christ uses the Law to make spiritual progress in sanctification. “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit” (Rom 8:1-4). God’s Law is like a pair of ice skates. If you walk with them on the grass, you will fall. But if you use them on ice, you will glide easily, quickly, and beautifully! Oh, the Wisdom of God!!!

In a believer, there is a war within. The flesh and the Spirit are mortal enemies. The Holy Spirit helps the believer kill sin in the flesh. This is the road to spiritual maturity. The Holy Spirit cannot make peace with the flesh. It does not just arrest the flesh as a prisoner of war. The Spirit arrests and kills its prisoner. Then, finally, there is peace. Against the fruit of the Spirit, including Love, there is no Law (Gal 5:23). This is because the Holy Spirit is never lawless. His fruit is manifested as obedience to the Law of Christ, which is Agape Love!

LOVE IS LIKE A WIND

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight and the rough places smooth; 5 The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” 6 The voice said, “Cry out!” And he said, “What shall I cry?” “All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. 7 The grass withers, the flower fades, Because the breath of the Lord blows upon it; Surely the people are grass. 8 The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever” (Is 40:3-8).

“Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, 23 having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, 24 because “All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls away, 25 But the word of the Lord endures forever.” Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you” (1 Peter 1:22-25).

Love hates sin like no other. Love “thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity but rejoices in the truth” (1 Cor 13:5, 6). Love desires a pure heart for her house. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth and Love. He does a special and specific work of love and grace, preparing the soul for the new life in Christ. We are all born sinners; therefore, we are all proud. Religious pride is the worst. It manifests as hypocrisy. The Holy Spirit comes like a hot dry wind blowing from the desert. Nothing stops Him and nothing can resist Him. This work of withering is necessary to kill the flesh, the pride of life. The farmers burn the wild grass before they use the ground to plant new seeds. In the same way, the Holy Spirit prepares the ground of the heart to be ready to receive the incorruptible seed of life, which is the Word of God. As a farmer cannot plant on a stony ground, the Holy Spirit will not waste the Word in an unprepared proud heart. John the Baptist was that voice crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord. John did not come with seeds. He came with the baptism of water. John told sinners to repent. That word ‘repent’ is the sound of the withering wind of the Holy Spirit. Grace comes as wind and fire before the glory of God shall be revealed to all men. John prepared the ground the best way he could. He also said that another One will come to ‘finish the work’ of withering before plantation. He said that the Messiah, Jesus, will come and baptize with the Holy Ghost and fire (Matt 3:11). To be baptized means to go down, to be submerged, and die, in the river of water, or in the river of fire. Flesh cannot survive the baptism. Then the soul will rise and be free from the bondage of sin and death.

The withering work of the Holy Spirit has some peculiarities. It comes like a wind from God. Both in Hebrew and in Greek, the word for Wind and for Spirit is the same. First, the wind comes suddenly and unexpectedly, like a thief in the night. Isaiah, the prophet, is surprised too. He says: ‘What shall I cry?’ It is hard to describe the effect of this Wind. The sinner ‘enjoys his life’ when suddenly, things change. He cannot explain how this change came. Suddenly, the things he used to love he now hates. Things he used to be proud of, his beauty, intelligence, achievements, and all success, seem like dung to him now. This is a form of mourning. Jesus said: ‘Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted’ (Matt 5:4). To the natural man, these are strange words… This is a godly sorrow. The man feels like dying. He sees the world, the flesh, for what it truly is. The beauty of man is transitory. Money does not attract him again. Fleshly success looks fragile and dying. The unbelievers still enjoy the things of the world, but this man, feeling the love wind, has lost interest in them. He thinks of death, of judgment, of God. For the first time he says, ‘vanity upon vanity, all is vanity!’ He now sees that he needs a Savior. He desperately seeks the Savior. He has no peace.

Secondly, the withering work of the Holy Spirit is total. It affects the whole personality. We are told that ‘all flesh’ is affected. Under the blow of the Holy Wind, the sinner’s mind loses its interest in dreaming about the world. The emotional attraction towards sin dies. When trying to choose new ways of sin, the will is weakened. Please note that this ‘attack’ is not done by the devil. It is the wind of the Holy Spirit that dries the flesh. The devil wants the sinner to love the world, not to hate it. No man on his own can stop loving sin or the world. The flesh cannot survive this wind. Eventually, the flesh starts to fade and fall away. Pride is gone. Self-righteousness is dead. No rain can revive the fallen flower. No prayer can revive the fading flesh. This is the time when the man bows down and totally surrenders to Jesus. The battle is over.

Thirdly, this work is extremely painful. The flesh fights back against the Spirit and that increases the pain. But flesh can never win. People who say that they are Christians, and have never experienced such pains, cannot be strong believers. Most of the time, they are only religious and not truly saved. The withering work of the Holy Spirit, though painful, is a work of grace. It is the work of Love. It prepares the soul for the revelation of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

Jesus said that salvation is a new work done by the Holy Spirit. A sinner cannot be repaired or improved. A sinner must die to sin. Then the Holy Spirit will give him new life, God’s eternal life. The Holy Spirit blows like the wind, sovereign, free and powerful. “7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit” (Jn 3:7, 8). Once this work is done, it is time to plant. Most of the time, God’s Word comes thru preaching. This is a reminder to truly respect the preaching of God’s Word. Jesus plants His Word in the heart. This Word of life stands and endures forever. Hell has tried many times to uproot it but always failed. Nothing can uproot God’s Word planted in a prepared heart. No one can pluck a true believer from the hand of Jesus! Worship the Lord!

MY TESTIMONY

I was born in Romania, about 70 years ago. My husband, Richmond Sisan Leigh, a Nigerian, came to study medicine in Romania. We were classmates. We fell in love, and we got married. After graduation, we came to Nigeria to settle. We have three children. We founded Lily Clinic (now Lily Hospital). We became as they say, ‘rich and famous’ in Warri, Nigeria. Until I became saved in March 1986, I was an atheist. I did not believe that God, devil, heaven, or hell, exist. I did not see a Bible before I came to Nigeria in 1980. I did not attend church. Many people, mostly my patients, tried to preach to me about God, about Jesus, but I totally rejected their words. I was convinced that ‘religion is the opium of the masses’, as we were thought in Romania. In January 1986, something happened to me. For no good reason, I suddenly became depressed. I am generally an optimistic person. But now, I lost my happiness. I was not happy with my achievements (my good marriage, my children, my profession as a doctor, my money and fame). I felt like dying. For the first time in my life, I started thinking of God, of death, of heaven and hell. The words of the people who preached to me hunted me. I asked myself: ‘What if I am wrong? What if God exists? If I die, what will I tell God?’ The idea of God, of Jesus entered as a nail in my mind and I could not remove it. It was a time of terror, hell on earth. The Holy Spirit arrested me, and I could not get free. That is when, for the first time in my life, I prayed. I was totally broken. I wept like a desperate dying woman. I asked Jesus to forgive my sins. Better said, I begged Him to have mercy on me. I did not know the Bible or doctrines, but I just had a feeling the only Jesus can help me. He did! The Holy Spirit suddenly came into my heart and gave me peace. It was a sudden influx of power, peace, and joy I could not imagine human beings experiencing on this earth. I was never the same again. I started reading the Bible like a mad woman. The first sin that the holy Spirit convicted me of the sin of abortion. As a doctor, I did abortion at request. I did not know that it was a sin. The Holy Spirit changed my heart ‘overnight’. I started to love all the unborn babies. I repented. I have never done abortion on any patient since 1986. This is my first victory as a Christian. I started growing spiritually, in favor with God and man. Later, my husband also got saved. We sold our private hospital and started a church called Father’s House Bible Church, in Warri/ Effurun. We became pastors. God blessed our labor of love. To Him be all the glory! Worship the Lord!

This Sunday service Pastor (Mrs) Silvia Lia Leigh preached another sermon in the series titled ‘Love is The New Commandment’. Her main scriptures were taken from the books of 1 John 1:1-10; 2:1-11; Luke 7:36-50;

LOVE IS THE OLD AND THE NEW COMMANDMENT (1Jn 1:1-10; and 1 Jn 2:1-11).

“God is Love” (1 Jn 4:8). God is not just loving in nature. God is Himself Love. We, the believers in Christ, are children of Love. The concept of Love is major in understating Christianity. The whole universe is powered by the engine of Agape Love. The word ‘Love’ appears about 50 times in this short but powerful letter (1 John). Paul was called ‘The Apostle of Grace’. John was called ‘The Apostle of Love’. We shall study this letter and discover the power of Love. Every time the word ‘love’ appears in the New Testament, including in this letter, is always the Greek word ‘agape’. This is the sacrificial love of God, of Jesus. The New Testament never uses the word ‘eros’ (sexual love) or ‘Phileo’ (brotherly friendly feelings). It is always ‘agape’ love. When you look at Christ Crucified, you see Love! May this amazing revelation fill our hearts, in Jesus’ name!

John writes as an apostle of Christ and as a pastor to the church. As an apostle he has the authority to say that He has seen Jesus! He has ‘seen (looked upon) and handled (touched)’ the Living Word of Eternal Life. As a Pastor he writes with great compassion and encourages his flock. He now ‘declares’ the Word of Life to ‘the Brethren’, calling them ‘my little children’. The purpose of this letter, this sermon, or this declaration is twofold: to have fellowship and perfect joy. These blessings are possible only for the true believers in Christ. First, John wants the brethren to experience the intimate fellowship with God the Father, with God the Son, and with one another. Secondly, he wants their joy to be full, fulfilled, complete, and expressed as a powerful overflow. Lesson: knowing God’s Word is not just theory. God’s Word is living and working in our hearts. It changes lives and circumstances. Believing God’s Word is the only way to have intimate joyful loving fellowship with God and with the brethren. The word Gospel means ‘good news’. The Gospel is the story, the testimony of Jesus. Simply said, the Gospel is this: Jesus died and rose again for me! Salvation is always joyful. For a sinner to be saved, that is the most wonderful news he will ever hear. To preach the Gospel with sadness is sin. The Cross is not a tragedy. It is the greatest triumph in the universe. Jesus completely won the victory over sin and death. We share in that victory. We share in His crown. Our faith in Him is our victory. “For everyone born of God is victorious and overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has conquered and overcome the world—our [continuing, persistent] faith [in Jesus the Son of God]” (1 Jn 5:4; AMP). Our joy comes from believing and knowing that though we are in the world, in Christ, we are more than conquerors on earth and sure of heaven’s glory. Because Jesus lives, we live also!

God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all! This light is another word for truth, holiness, and purity. Apostle Paul reminds us that as sinners we used to be ‘darkness’. But now, the life and light of God has entered into our spirits. He commands us to live in the light. “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth)” (Eph 5:8, 9). The fruits that grow in the light of God are goodness, righteousness (Christian character) and truth. These fruits can never grow in the darkness of unconfessed sin. God’s Word is Truth. In God there are no lies, no sin, and no deception. John warns us about the deceivers in the church. They claim to have fellowship with God, but they do not practice the truth. They are dangerous rebellious hypocrites. They deceive themselves and others saying that they are saved. But they live in sin and walk in darkness. They are spiritually blind and totally ignorant of God. They lie with confidence to cover their sin. The truth is that we are all born sinners and we also choose to sin. But these false teachers say that they ‘have not sinned’. They claim that they live in the light, but they deny the light, making God a liar. By their hypocrisy they attack God’s character. This is a major sin. God’s Word is not in them. They are not children of God. But because you find them in the church, they can deceive others to follow them in their sin.

Apostle John counsels us ‘not to sin’. “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil” (PV 8:13). To fear God, it means to take His Word seriously. The fear of God is the antidote to prevent and defeat sin. In case ‘we sin’ we have an ‘Advocate’ with God the Father. He is our Lord Jesus Christ, the Righteous. In Greek, the word ‘advocate’ is ‘Paracleton’, the same word used for the Holy Spirit. It is translated as Advocate, Helper, Comforter, Counsellor, or Intercessor. In heaven, Christ pleads our case with God the Father, who is the Judge. Did you know that we have the best defense Lawyer in the whole universe? As the Most Senior Advocate of the Universe, Jesus Christ has never lost any case. He is both our Great High Priest and our sacrifice accepted by God the Father. He is the ‘propitiation’ for our sins. For example, when I sin, Christ tells the Father: ‘yes, Malia has sinned. But I shed My Blood for her. Please forgive her…’ And for Christ’ sake, God forgives me! To ‘propitiate’ it means to appease the wrath of God. Jesus died on our behalf to appease God’s wrath against us because we broke His Law. God hates sin. God is holy. We are saved by grace and through faith in Jesus. Nothing but the Blood of Jesus shed for sinners could atone for sins and give us entrance into this grace by which we now stand. The Love of God is the engine of God’s plan of salvation. This love has been shed into our hearts. “We love Him because He first loved us” (1Jn 4:19). Love is forgiveness! God forgives so that we forgive! Love is an eternal debt to pay to the Lover of our souls!

As God’s children we love God, ourselves, and our neighbors. This love is not just a feeling. It is God’s deep work in our hearts. Love is obedience to God’s Word. The same deceivers say that they know and love God. They praise God with their lips, but they disobey God’s Word. They are liars. Lesson: Love is not just words. It is action and it is fruitful. He who say I love God, will surely obey His Word. God’s love becomes ‘perfected’ in him. It becomes mature, fruitful. This is spiritual maturity. A mature believer walks (behaves) like Jesus. Though we can never be sinless like Jesus, but by habitually obeying God’s Word, and by loving others, we prove that we are Christ’ disciples indeed. Loving others means not to hurt them; it means to actively care for their souls, to help them in any way we can. If any man becomes a mature Christian, this planet will become for him ‘heaven on earth’. This love is the true mark and the proof that Jesus died and rose for sinners on earth. Glory to God!

Love is called both the Old and the New Commandment. It is old because God the Creator is Love. God created and loved Adam and Eve. God warned Cain to repent of his jealousy and hatred. In other words, God commanded Cain to love his brother, Abel. But Cain refused to listen. He did not want to be his ‘brother’s keeper’. So, he killed his brother. The difference between Love and Hate is as much as the distance between heaven and hell. Love is also called a new Commandment because in Christ, it reached the climax of manifestation and fulfilment. Love is always connected with life, truth, wisdom, strength, joy, peace, and freedom. Hatred is always connected with evil, sin, wickedness, failure, spiritual darkness. Love helps others to make progress. Hatred is a stumbling block. Those who hate never make progress in life. They are troublemakers. “Hatred stirs up strife, But love covers and overwhelms all transgressions [forgiving and overlooking another’s faults]” (PV 10:12; AMP). “Above all, have fervent and unfailing love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins [it overlooks unkindness and unselfishly seeks the best for others]” (1 Pet 4:8; AMP). Hatred keeps grudges alive and fuels the desire for revenge. Love forgives and forgets all the offences against itself. Hatred is blindness, unbelief, and ignorance. The one who hates has no vision for the future. He moves on without a purpose in life. Hatred is always destructive and ends in regret. The love of the Christians towards one another is the most powerful tool for evangelism. In the early church, it turned the world upside down. The believers exercise love towards God and man. Nothing destroys the power of this agape love.

“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God” (Jn 3:18-21). Jesus said that faith in Him saves a man. Justification is by faith alone. Refusal to believe confirms that the man is born a sinner, and ‘condemned already’. The light of God shone in the darkness thru the Person of Jesus Christ. Sinners have no excuse. They refused to come to the light, to receive their sight and be saved. A spiritual blind man is blind by choice. He is rebellious against God’s light. Spiritual darkness manifests as hatred of Jesus, hatred of the Bible, a refusal to surrender to Jesus and refusal to repent of sins. But a believer humbles himself, surrenders and comes to the light. He believes and obeys God’s Word which is truth. Light and life are twins. The believer becomes spiritually fruitful to the glory of God!

LOVE FULFILS THE LAW

“Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor. Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfillment of the law” (Rom 13:7-10).

The world does not know anything about love. It only knows lust, and it calls lust ‘love’. God’s Law of love is to be obeyed. But sinful man cannot obey it. Thru the Cross, Christ brings a new power of obedience. It is called Love. In Christ, by loving God and man, the believers fulfill God’s Law, and they taste of its sweetness. This obedience makes God happy and gives Him all the glory. Christians alone have the power not only to obey God’s Law, but in Christ, to fulfill it. Fulfilment is the process or the act by which an action comes to its expected end. For example: a promise is made about things in the future. There is a period of time between the promise and the reception of its blessings. Love alone is patient and willing to wait for the fulfilment of the promise. Nothing defeats the power of Love! The adulterer watches to seduce his neighbor’s wife. The thief is looking for doors left unlocked so that he comes in the night to steal from his neighbor. The slanderer is polishing his tongue on how to successfully speak evil against his neighbor. The murderer is happy when his neighbor is sick. He wants him dead so that he can take over his possessions. There is a curse against hating your neighbor. “Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbor, pressing him to your bottle, even to make him drunk, that you may look on his nakedness!” (Habakuk 2:15). For a long time, sinners seem successful and strong. But this is the truth: No evil man can be truly rich or happy. At death, his wealth remains on earth. His soul goes to hell. This is the greatest loss! Selah!

WHAT IS DEBT?

A debt is an amount of money taken now and to be paid later. Debt is an amount of money owed by the borrower and given to the lender. This money is to be returned to the lender with interest, at a particular time. The approval of the loan is based on the worthiness of the borrower. A debt can be mortgage, credit card debt or a personal loan. A secured debt comes with collaterals. If the borrower refuses to pay his debt, the lender will take the collateral. The advantage of a loan is that you can invest in your future. You can start a business, or you can go to school when you don’t have enough money. The disadvantage of a loan is that you have to pay bigger amounts of money later. Having a debt and not being able to pay has consequences: anxiety, depression, financial hardship, family stress, or social stigma. Unpaid debts lead to greater poverty and slavery. Some people who could not pay their debts committed suicide. Spiritually, debt is a form of slavery. Once you borrow from another, you become his slave. His spirit will torment you. “The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender” (PV 22:7). Now you see why hating someone increases your debt to him and you become his spiritual slave. It is wicked to take a loan planning not to pay it. A Christian pays his loans. “The wicked borrows and does not repay, but the righteous shows mercy and gives” (Ps 37:21). Unpaid debt leads to greater poverty. We are told to be free from debts. But there is a debt we must continuously pay unto we see Jesus. It’s the debt of love.

“And forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven our debtors [letting go of both the wrong and the resentment]” (Matt 6:12; AMP). ‘Debt’ here means a sin against you, a trespass, something that must be paid. A sin against your neighbor is a sin against God. With time, the debt increases until you cannot pay it again. That is why you ask God to forgive your debts of sin, not ‘because of’ but ‘as’ you forgive others. As you let go of the grudges against other people, you can ask God to forgive your debt to Him, because you too have offended men. Selah!

The command is to love God first, love yourself second, and love your neighbor as yourself. Love should never end with you! There is a romantic love with sexual attraction. That is to be expressed only in the marriage between a man and his wife. But this command of love is greater even than marital love. It is the Love of God poured into the souls of men. In the Parable of the unforgiving servant, the Master forgave him a big debt, just because he confessed his debt and pleaded for mercy (Matt 18:21-35). Later, the same man refused to forgive another who owed him very little. The Master called him back. He rebuked him for his lack of love and compassion because he did not replicate the mercy he had received. He misrepresented his master’s kindness and took his grace for granted. The master threw him in prison where he would be tortured until he paid all his debt.

“Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor. Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law” (Rom 13:7, 8). We are commanded to be free from debts. But there is a debt we must continuously pay unto we see Jesus, face to face. It is the debt of love. What does that mean? We are told to pay all our debts and taxes. As much as possible, as Christians, we avoid taking loans. Do not take a loan and spend the money on yourself. The money belongs to your lender. This command teaches us indirectly to be humble, modest, and satisfied with God’s provision so that we avoid taking loans. It also teaches us to be hard working so that we make a profit also to avoid taking loans. It also teaches us to quickly pay our debts and not increase them. We are to pay our debts towards all men, those who are socially and financially superior, equal, or even inferior to us.

After we pay our taxes to the government, we respect the customs of the nation, and honor those in authority, we are not yet totally free. We must pay the universal debt of love towards all people. Apostle Paul merges here two great principles: Law and Love. Loving others is a sign that we are loved by God. Only a child of God is able to love people. This love towards people is the fulfillment of God’s Law. Once we love people, we don’t need to obey any other law. This is the only law God will use to judge us. No other law is needed beside this law. Christianity is powerful because of this old and new Law of Love. This Law is simple, powerful, and profound. Selah!

*Who is your neighbor? Any person you come into contact with you, day by day; that is your ‘neighbor’. Therefore, you see that love is not a romantic feeling. Love cannot choose its objects. Love is a Law to be obeyed. Love does good to all she encounters, the good, the bad and the ugly. This is how Jesus lived. This is how we are commanded to live. We must pay our debt of love to all we meet. No matter how much money we give somebody, if we do not love that one, we still owe him. If you harm a man, you do not love him. You have increased your debt to that man.

*How do you love your neighbor? To love your neighbor means to put yourself in his position, to understand his situation, and to help him have a better life. Love him as you love yourself. Each man is concerned about his life, family, his health, or his reputation. When you meet a man who has a need, think of him like you are in his position. Do whatever you can to help him. “Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, When it is in the power of your hand to do so. Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come back, and tomorrow I will give it,” When you have it with you. 29 Do not devise evil against your neighbor, For he dwells by you for safety’s sake” (PV 3:27-29). Do not ‘withhold’ your love from another if you can do something to help him.   

FORGIVENESS

Forgiveness is defined as the letting go of sin. In the Bible, forgiveness is an act of worship and love, to God and man. This includes forgiving everyone, every time, of everything, as an act of gratefulness to God. Forgiveness acknowledges the sacrifice God made through His Son Jesus who died on the Cross to restore the relationship between God and man. Forgiveness does not mean excusing sin, forgetting the past, permitting repetition of the sinful act against you, or guaranteeing reconciliation with the perpetrator. God has forgiven us our sins, and we forgive others of theirs. As we forgive, we are moving on instead of dwelling on that sin. Forgiveness is Freedom, is Love and Progress in life!

Forgiveness in the Bible means God’s pardon of our sins for Christ’s sake. God does not count our sins against us. Biblical forgiveness requires faith in Jesus, repentance, and confession of sins from our part. One condition to receive forgiveness from God is that we forgive others who sinned against us. Love is the foundation of forgiveness. At the last supper Jesus said: “For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission (forgiveness) of sins” (Matt 26:28). Refusing to forgive is a sin against Jesus and His Blood. If we receive forgiveness from God, we must give it to others who hurt us. Forgiveness means letting go of grudges or seeking of revenge, trusting God for justice. Forgiveness means releasing the other from blame, leaving the painful event in God’s hands, and moving on. When you forgive, you set a prisoner free, but you discover that the real prisoner was yourself. If in the past you had a relationship with the guilty person, you may or you may not continue in that relationship. If you did not have a relationship, there is no need to start one. Forgiveness means that you trust Jesus Christ, the Judge of the living and the dead, to vindicate you. Once you learn how to forgive, you experience true freedom. “He commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that it is He who was ordained by God to be Judge of the living and the dead. To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission (forgiveness) of sins” (Ac 10:42. 43). Forgiveness is the brother of Love. “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you” (Eph 4:31, 32). Forgiveness and Love must be done as Christ has done.

WORSHIP IS AN ETERNAL DEBT TO BE PAID (Lk 7:36-50).

This is a story that reveals the power of love, the extravagant worship for Jesus. Jesus was invited by Simon, a Pharisee. The Pharisees were religious leaders, always antagonistic to Jesus. They looked for reasons to discredit His words. Just imagine that your enemy invites you to dinner. Will you go? Will you eat at his table? Most people would refuse to go and eat for fear that they will be poisoned. But Jesus went. He sat down with them to eat. It was a room full of men. Suddenly, a woman came in. She was ‘a sinner’, possibly a known prostitute. Nobody invited her. Have you ever been in a room where nobody likes you? No Jew invites a sinner to his table. They believed that her touch alone would defile them for days and they could not go to the temple to pray. Boldy, the woman enters the room, ready to be insulted and driven away by the men. In ancient Israel, it was only the husband that could see his wife’s long hair which was regarded as her naked body. A woman could not be seen with her long hair in public, except she was a prostitute. She came as she was. This nameless woman ignores all men, goes straight to Jesus, and falls at His feet, weeping. The cry was so much that her tears became like a river. She used the tears to wash Jesus’ feet and without a towel, she dries them with her long hair. She kissed His feet and anointed them with expensive fragrant oil she bought in an alabaster box.

The woman lavishes her love on the feet of Jesus. Why His feet? It is because these dusty but precious, beautiful feet brought her mercy, healing, and salvation! “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who proclaims peace, who brings glad tidings of good things, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!” (Is 52:7).

Simon and the other religious men were terribly embarrassed by the emotional show of love especially coming from this ‘sinful’ woman. They criticized Jesus in their hearts for allowing such an open intimate display of love on Him. In their understanding, this woman’s reckless behavior and Jesus’ acceptance of it, was sinful. But what Jesus said, shocked them even more. Not only that Jesus did not rebuke the woman, but He rebukes Simon for his lack of love. Jesus tells him that this woman’s behavior is love in heart and love in action. Simon was the host. He invited Jesus into his house but did not perform the simple duty of a host as it was in ancient Israel. Simon did not give Him water to wash His feet. Simon did not welcome Jesus with a friendly kiss. Simon did not bring oil or cream to anoint His head. This woman’s action is worship coming from the grateful heart of a soul saved by grace.

Simon, by rejecting this woman’s worship, proved that he was not saved. Simon and the rest of the men in the room, were ashamed of Jesus. This shame is sinful and dangerous. In other words, they hated Jesus. Jesus said: “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels” (Lk 9:26). The natural man is ashamed of Jesus and His words. This is because man is selfish. Jesus said that if anyone is ashamed of Him in this life, He will pay back with the same ‘coin’ when He comes again, in His heavenly glory. Simon did not know that this woman got saved and forgiven; that she came to pay her great debt of gratitude to Jesus. He did not know that this woman also helped him pay his own debt to Jesus. She did what Simon was supposed to do. He did not understand the greatest Law of Love. How ignorant a religious man can be! Lesson: Religion may invite you to dinner, may give you gifts or money, but religion never loves. Religion is a hater. Jesus said to Simon: “Her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little” (Lk 7:47). Jesus connects love with forgiveness of sins. Love is a debt to be paid. All true believers are forgiven people, and they forgive others. They are so broken by the revelation of grace, that they are willing and able to forgive their enemies. Love and forgiveness always go together. The end of this holy chemistry is ‘peace’ with God, peace with yourself and peace with others. Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace” (Lk 7:50). Love, faith, and peace hold hands and worship Jesus! Worship the Lord!

This Sunday service Pastor (Mrs) Silvia Lia Leigh preached another sermon in the series titled ‘Love is The New Commandment’. Her main scriptures were taken from the book of 1 Corinthians 12:31; 13:1-13; 14:1-5; and Judges 4 and 5.  “When leaders lead…” (Jdg. 5:2).

THE WORDS OF JESUS

When He was on earth, our Lord spoke these words: “Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away” (Mk 13:31). The words ‘pass away’ mean to disappear, to be passed by or ignored. Our Lord says that the present heaven and earth shall be changed and become new. But His Words remain forever. This proclamation reveals the total authority of Jesus Christ. He alone can speak like this. No man can say such a thing. For the past 2000 years, His Words have stayed with supernatural power. His words have become doctrines to be preached, Laws in many countries and a great source of comfort for millions. To God be all the glory!

PRAYER FOR GREATER REVELATION OF GOD’S LAW   

“Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you [and even show you] great and mighty things, [things which have been confined and hidden], which you do not know and understand and cannot distinguish” (Jer 33:3; AMP). “Open my eyes, that I may see Wondrous things from Your law” (Ps 119:18). ‘Wondrous’ means great, difficult, or wonderful. The word ‘open’ means to uncover, to make naked; revelation, to have a clear vision. Only the Holy Spirit can reveal the deep things of God. To see and appreciate the value of God’s love, His kindness and generosity to men in giving His only begotten Son to die for sinners, these are revelation pearls found only in the ocean of God’s Grace. You need the equipment of faith to dive in and find these treasures of the deep. These are hidden from the natural man, from the superficial seeker. These revelations excite our spirits, make us hungry for more of God’s Word and lead us to deeper worship. These revelations are always connected with prayer and come as a response to prayer. No man is able to appreciate the depth and beauty of the Bible except he is born again, Spirit filled and pays the price for spiritual maturity. That man is a true disciple of Jesus. He prays that God will open his eyes to see as God sees. He prays that God will remove the veil of religious ignorance and spiritual blindness. The Apostle Paul prayed for spiritual wisdom saying: “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him” (Eph 1:17). May we desire not only to know religion, but to experience God’s wisdom, His power of resurrection and the glorious riches available to us in Christ alone! Amen!

THE GOSPEL OF LOVE

Jesus said: “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (Jn 14:15). Love is more than a feeling. Love is intelligent and strong. Love is more than a poet. Love is a soldier, a general in the army. Love does exploits for Jesus. Love leads others to God’s Word! When leaders lead and lovers love, revival will happen! What is Christianity? It is not a human idea, or a philosophy of men. Christianity is Christ. Christianity is the Gospel. What is the Gospel? The word means ‘good news’. The Gospel is the life, death and resurrection of Christ, the Son of God. It is the total victory of Christ over sin and death. The Gospel is the most wonderful news that ever come to planet earth. We are born sinners. We are supposed to die and go to hell. God the Father loved this world. Only Love has the power to create a way and pay the price for salvation. Love leads! God the Father sent His only begotten Son to become Man and die on behalf of sinners. Faith in the Gospel is the only way to be saved and go to heaven. Many people argue about religions, denominations, and creeds. They ask me, how do you know that the Gospel is true? I know because I totally believe the Bible is the Word of God. In the Old Testament, thousands of years before Jesus came, there were many prophecies who said that one day, God will send a Savior. All these prophecies came true in the Person of Jesus Christ. For example, the Bible said that the Messiah will be born in a small city called Bethlehem. He did! The Bible said that He will enter in Jerusalem riding on a donkey. He did! The Bible said that He will be betrayed and sold for 30 silver coins. He did! Look at Jesus! Study His words and His life! He said that He came to bring abundant life. He said that Him and God the Father are one. He is either mad, a liar, or He is truly God. The answer is that Jesus is God! Who is this Man of Galilee? You must receive Him in your heart before you really know Him. Look at His disciples. When He was arrested, they all ran away. They later came and saw Him crucified. They saw Him dead. They took His Body and buried it. On the Third Day He rose from the dead. He sent the Holy Spirit. These depressed and cowardly people suddenly became bold like lions. What is the explanation? They were filled with the Spirit of Christ and became His witnesses preaching His Words. Look at the Apostle Paul. He hated Christ and the Church. He had an encounter with the resurrected Christ, and he was never the same again. He preached the Gospel and died as a martyr. Christianity is the joyful story of Jesus Christ, of eternal life, of God’s Love for men, His resurrection power and amazing grace! If your heart is not bubbling with joy, you are not yet saved.

LOVE IS THE MOST EXCELLENT WAY (1 Cor 12:31; 13:1-13; 14:1-5)

The way of Love is called ‘the more excellent way’. Not everyone has all the gifts. But every believer must passionately desire to know and to walk in the excellent way of love. “But earnestly desire and strive for the greater gifts [if acquiring them is going to be your goal]. And yet I will show you a still more excellent way [one of the choicest graces and the highest of them all: unselfish love]” (1 Cor 12:31; AMP). Spiritual gifts are the reason why many Christians have become proud or jealous of others. Love is the cure for all pride and jealousy. The word ‘excellent’ means the best of all, outstanding, highest quality of character of leadership. All lovers are leaders. We are commanded to ‘pursue love’. Finding love is an active exercise and there is a price to pay. In both Old and New Testament, when man is commanded to Love, his whole person must be involved, body, soul, and spirit. Love is the perfect way of life. Many people talk about love, but few experience it in this life on earth. Selah!

In the Book of 1 Corinthians 13 we see the greatest song of love. It is agape love, the love Jesus displayed on the Cross. Love ‘suffers long’. It is patient, waiting for the prodigals to come back; it endures through times of affliction. Many things break down, but love continues to pray and endures to the end. Love is kind. It does good deeds to others. It is generous with its heart, time, energy, and gifts. Love does not envy, and it is not covetous. It does not steal the blessings of another. Love is happy when God blesses others. Love is humble. It is not proud and does not oppress others. Love is not aggressive in speech, it is not rude, but it is gentle and kind. Love is not selfish. Love thinks of the good of others and not only of herself. Love is not over sensitive or easily provoked. Love never loses its temper and insult others. Love does not think evil. Love is a sister to Truth. Love feeds on God’s Word. It rejoices when she sees the truth. Love is an excellent worship leader. Love is stronger than all hindrances. Love finishes the race. Love never gives up. A baby Christian is only able to receive love. He grows by it. But a mature Christian is able to also give love. More than faith, and wider than hope, Love is the greatest of all. Love never fails! Love is the eternal champion! Glory!

We are commanded to study, seek, and receive spiritual gifts. The best of all gifs is the gift of prophecy. The least of gifts is the gift of tongues. Why is this so? Because Love measures our desire to help others. Tongues are good but we can become selfish using them. This is because speaking in tongues only helps the speaker. But prophecy helps the whole congregation. In the New Testament, prophesy is not just foretelling of future events. It is preaching God’s Word under the anointing of the Holy Spirit. A teacher teaches God’s Word systematically. We need good Bible teachers. But a Christian who has the gift of prophesy, teaches, and preaches with a passion greater than the teacher. He speaks directly to the people’s conscience, stirring them to repent and rise to serve God. In this way the whole church is strengthened and encouraged. Love wants to help many people. That is why love works best thru prophetic anointing. Love for God and man is the fuel for revival. Praise the Lord!

POSSESS YOUR POSSESSIONS

“Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses” (Josh 1:3).  “See, I have set the land before you; go in and possess the land which the Lord swore to your fathers—to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—to give to them and their descendants after them” (Deut 1:8).

The problem many Christians have is that they only have ‘a head knowledge’ of God’s Word. They know the doctrines, but they do not apply the truth practically in their lives. There is a difference between position and possession. You may have a title, a position, and lack the possession of that title. A title gives you an official position in an organization or in society. But you need to enter and possess that title before you can use the power and the privileges available. It is the same with God’s promises. It is the same with Love. Theory without application only gives you ‘head knowledge’. There is no authority in your testimony. There is no power to produce results. Just before entering the Promise Land, God promises Joshua that ‘every place that the sole of your foot tread upon’ shall be his. Joshua sees the Promised Land across the Jordan. But seeing is not possessing. Joshua needs to walk on that Land before he can claim it as his own. Even today, it’s possible to buy a piece of land without possessing it. You can have the document of ownership in your hand and still not possess or enjoy the property. Once the land is yours, you walk on that land until you know every hill and every valley on it. To possess means to enjoy!

DEBORAH – THE BEE (Judges 4 and 5)

During the Book of Judges, it was a difficult time for Israel. “In those days [when the judges governed] there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes” (Jdg. 21:25). Before God gave His people kings, He gave them judges. They are a symbol of Christ. They prepared the way for the monarchy. The word translated ‘judges’ is not exactly what we know about a court judge. Judges means troubleshooters. Troubleshooting is necessary when something has failed. Like a doctor discovers the diagnoses of a sickness, so, thru systematic approach troubleshooters solve the problem. Lesson: God used the judges to save His people from themselves and from their enemies. The judges become national heroes. There were 12 judges: 6 major and 6 minor judges. Deborah is among the 6 major judges. She is the only female judge mentioned in the Bible. Not all the judges had prophetic gifts. Only Deborah and Samuel function as both prophet and judge in Israel.

Deborah is one of the most important and influential people in the Bible. She has an impressive testimony. She was a wife, a mother, a leader, a prophetess, a judge, a poet, a singer, a songwriter, a worshipper, and a warrior. She is unique because she was a woman. Few women stood openly in the position of a national leader. She is the only woman in the Bible who is known for her faith, wisdom, courage, spirituality, and actions, not because of her relationship with any man, but just because God was with her. Her testimony is that God indeed called her, and, against all odds, she fulfilled her call. Lesson: Obedience to God’s Word is the basis to fulfill destiny. God’s grace is enough for us! No excuses!

Deborah was married to Brother Lapidoth. His name means ‘the shining one’. He may have been a handsome man who dressed well. We do not know more details than this. We do not know if he has encouraged or helped his wife to answer God’s call. Lesson: God’s call must be obeyed. God will make a way. In spite of all her titles and offices, Deborah simply called herself ‘a mother in Israel’ (Jdg. 5:7). This reveals great humility and a love for children, natural and spiritual. Her office as a judge was in the open field, under a palm tree. People from all over the country came to her with their complains. She will counsel them, pray for them, and judge their matters. She was clearly a woman of spiritual authority.

Deborah’s name means ‘the Bee’. Her name is prophetic. The bees are very organized as a family. They have one queen, many workers, male bees, and soldiers. The queen alone reproduces. Each male that impregnates her dies immediately after the act. The queen has total authority in the family. Lesson: As all the other bees follow the queen, so the people of God listen and obey their leaders. Like the bees, believers are humble, faithful, and hardworking. When under attack, all fight to preserve their family. A bee’s sting is painful, but her honey is sweet. God’s people speak the truth that both wounds and heals. “How sweet are Your words to my taste, Sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (Ps 119:103). For 40 years in the wilderness, God fed His people with Manna. It is a symbol of God’s Word that sustains. “And the house of Israel called its name Manna. And it was like white coriander seed, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey” (Ex 16:31). The bees are wise and prudent. They store the honey for the time of winter. God’s people store His words in their hearts to be used in time of need. Bees make honey not only for themselves but for men to eat. “Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones” (PV 16:24). God’s word blesses the soul with peace and the body with health. The Promised Land is a land ‘of milk and honey’. “Oh, that My people would listen to Me, That Israel would walk in My ways! I would soon subdue their enemies And turn My hand against their adversaries. The haters of the Lord would pretend submission to Him, But their fate would endure forever. He would have fed them also with the finest of wheat; And with honey from the rock I would have satisfied you” (Ps 81:13-16). Honey is a symbol of God’s word that gives strength to defeat the enemies and total satisfaction in life! Praise the Lord!

Because God’s people became rebellious, God handed them over to their enemies. God has commanded the people to destroy and take over the land of Canaan, also called the Promised Land. But God’s people became proud and lazy. They did not destroy the Canaanites. They in fact followed them in worshiping their idols. That is when God handed them over to King Jabin, a Canaanite king. People suffered greatly under the oppressive reign of King Jabin whose army general was called Sisera. God’s people cried for mercy. That is when God called Deborah to stand as their leader. She was a judge already. Now she stands as a prophet and national leader. Deborah called one of the Israelites leaders, Barak. He was from the tribe of Naphtali, not known as a tribe of leaders. Deborah told him what God said to her. It was a prophetic word. “Has not the Lord God of Israel commanded, ‘Go and deploy troops at Mount Tabor; take with you ten thousand men of the sons of Naphtali and of the sons of Zebulun; and against you I will deploy Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his multitude at the River Kishon; and I will deliver him into your hand’?” (Jdg 4:6, 7). Apparently, God has called Barak to stand and lead the army against the Canaanites. It seems that he was afraid or doubtful. Deborah confirms God’s call to him. This was God’s call to both Deborah and Barak to wake from slumber of defeat and to lead the armies to victory. Lesson: leaders stand when others are sitting. When leaders lead, people will follow them! God’s call to fight for victory comes with singing praises to God. “Awake, awake, Deborah! Awake, awake, sing a song! Arise, Barak, and lead your captives away, O son of Abinoam!” (Jdg 5:12). Praise warfare wakes men from slumber and get them ready for battle! Praise the Lord!

God reveals the strategy and the sure victory. Barak was to gather 10,000 troops up Mount Tabor to attack Sisera, Jabin’s commander of troops. Barak responded by saying “If you will go with me, I will go; if not I will not go” (Judges 4:8). Deborah agrees to go to battle with Barak and the troops but share with him: “However, there will be no glory for you in the course you are taking, for then the Lord will deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman” (Judges 4:9). It happened the way Deborah predicted. The battle against the Canaanites was won. They had supernatural help. Even the angels helped Israel. The Canaanites, who had stronger military equipment were trapped by God in the flooded river. They all died in the battle. It was a mighty victory for Israel! Lesson: obedience to God’s Word leads to breakthrough and victory! Praise the Lord!

Sisera ran on foot to the tent of a woman called Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite. He wanted to hide there because of a peace treaty the Kenites had with the Canaanites. Jael welcomes Sisera into her tent. It seems that she was alone. He asked for water, and she gave him milk. Exhausted from the battle, as he was sleeping, she used a hammer and drives a tent peg into his head. He dies on the spot. When Barak comes, he sees Sisera dead. He could not take the glory for the victory. That glory went to God alone who used a weaker vessel to kill the enemy.

Jabin oppressed Israel for 20 years. Jabin and Sisera stand for the devil. Jael stands for the believers. The name Sisera means ‘meditation’. He is a symbol of the devil. Jael drove a tent peg into his head and killed him. This is a picture of spiritual warfare. Like the tent peg, God’s Word penetrates and destroys the meditation and plans of the devil against us. “Is not My word like fire [that consumes all that cannot endure the test]?” says the LORD, “and like a hammer that breaks the [most stubborn] rock [in pieces]?” (Jer 23:29; AMP). God sends angels to help us during spiritual warfare. “The kings came and fought, Then the kings of Canaan fought In Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo; They took no spoils of silver. They fought from the heavens; The stars from their courses fought against Sisera. The torrent of Kishon swept them away, That ancient torrent, the torrent of Kishon. O my soul, march on in strength!” (Jdg 5:19-21). God sent angels to help and strength to His people.

Not everyone trusted Deborah’s leadership. Some people quietly stayed behind and did not come to join the army. Barak was from the tribe of Naphtali. God told him to call 10,000 men from the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun. People from other tribes may come as volunteers. The men from the tribe of Issachar joined the army. Ruben was the eldest son of Jacob. He was supposed to lead others in battle. God did not call the men from the tribe of Ruben to lead. But they were supposed to humble themselves and join the army. But they did not come. They claimed that they were still praying about it. There was ‘great searching of heart’ in their midst. Lesson: there is a time to pray and there is a time for action. When it is time to move, you don’t stay home to pray. The men from the tribes of Dan and Asher claimed to be busy with their ships. But the worse of them were the men from a village called Meroz. Not only that they refuse to come, but they also despised Deborah and Barak as the military leaders. A bitter curse was placed on them. The same angel of the Lord who helped the Israelites win the war curses the people who drew back, who refused to follow Deborah and Barak. “Curse Meroz, said the angel of the Lord, ‘Curse its inhabitants bitterly, Because they did not come to the help of the Lord, To the help of the Lord against the mighty” (Jdg 5:23). The book ends with a prophecy, The lovers of God will be strong like the sun. The ministry of Deborah brought peace to the land for the next 40 years. Amen!

LESSONS FROM DEBORAH’S LIFE AND MINISTRY

Deborah was an uncommon leader because she was a woman. Lesson: God is sovereign in His choice of His servants. Love is creative. Do not limit God. Humble yourself! God decided to call a woman as the spiritual leader of Israel. God can call and use anyone. No matter what men or devils say, God’s call comes with power to perform great deeds. God’s call cannot be stopped or defeated by men. Let go of every inferiority complex. Obey God’s voice. Have 100% faith in God who saved and called you to serve Him. This is a spiritual law: when leaders lead, and lovers love, people will follow. Deborah was not bound by the religious spirit of her day. God spoke to her, and she obeyed. She called Barak and told him what God said. She was not afraid of the enemy. Sisera led an army that had 900 chariots of iron. She was like David facing Goliath. She refused to be intimidated. She trusted God who assured her that the enemy will be defeated. She delivered God’s message to Barak with confidence: ‘Has not the Lord, the God of Israel, commanded you?’ (Jdg. 4:6). Deborah did not fight in the battle, but her presence encouraged Barak and the people of God. Lesson: our presence in the church is encouragement to many. She was an ordinary wife and mother when God called her to ministry. God said: “Awake, awake, Deborah! Awake, awake, sing a song!” (Jdg. 5:12). God woke her like from sleep with a fresh zeal to fight for the freedom of her nation. Lesson: God does not call the equipped. God equips the called! Barak was a humble man of faith (Heb 11:32). Deborah told Barak that ‘there will no glory for you’. Knowing that there will be no fame or glory for him, he still obeyed God and led Israel in battle. Lesson: all glory must go to the Lord!

Use every resource you have. Do not despise the day of little things. Jael used the peg tent and hammer she had at home. Deborah used her love as a mother to intercede for Israel. God blessed her by enlarging the area of authority. She became a mother in Israel, a mother to many spiritual children. The love of a mother is like a fire. She purifies and strengthens the heart of her children. Love is fearless. “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love” (1 Jn 4:18). Love is strong and courageous. “Love is as strong as death” (SS 8:6). Have you seen a mother hen defending her chicks? When Israel abandoned their God, God fought them as an enemy, as a mother bear robbed of her babies. “I will meet them like a bear deprived of her cubs; I will tear open their rib cage, And there I will devour them like a lion. The wild beast shall tear them” (Hosea 13:8). Fear God!

In Deborah we see God’s grace and strength manifested in our weakness. ‘One with God is majority’ (John Knox). This is a spiritual law: When leaders lead, people follow. Deborah was like Paul, who led by example. “And you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became examples to all in Macedonia and Achaia who believe” (1 Thess 1:6,7). “Therefore, I urge you, imitate me” (1 Cor 4:16). We are saved from death unto life, not to live comfortably, but to serve the Lord Jesus Christ. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Eph 2:10). God is not asking you to invent some way to serve Him. Pray for His Plan to be revealed in your life. He will put within you an irresistible desire to do those plans He had already purposed for you. If you pay attention, you’ll see God giving you opportunities to do those things. Deborah was faithful in little things. God trusted her with bigger things. From being a wife and mother to her children, God promoted her. Like Queen Esther, she became a national hero. May you hear God’s call and may you act on it! Even the sky is not the limit for those who love God and serve Him in His Kingdom. Her courage inspired a nation and brought peace to her people for the next 40 years. We bring peace to our nation by leading people to Christ. Jesus is the Captain of our salvation. He can never lose! Follow Him and you will be more than a conqueror. Worship the Lord!

LOVE IS THE NEW COMMANDMENT (2) – THE GIFT OF CONSCIENCE

This Sunday service Pastor (Mrs) Silvia Lia Leigh preached another sermon in the series titled ‘Love is The New Commandment’. Her main scriptures were taken from the book of Mark 12:28-34; Heb 4:11-16; Rom 1:1-16.

LOVE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT COMMANDMENT OF ALL (Mark 12:24-34)

A religious scribe came to ask Jesus a question. This happens at the end of a discussion between Jesus and the Sadducees, who did not believe in the resurrection. They wanted to trap our Lord, but God can never be trapped. Jesus said to them: “Is this not why you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures [that teach the resurrection] nor the power of God [who is able to raise the dead]?” (Mk 12:24; AMP). Our Lord clearly rebukes their ignorance of the Word of God. They did not believe in the power of resurrection. In the midst of all these deceived people, a wise man stands. He says: “Which is the first commandment of all?” The word ‘first’ means ‘the principal, the chief, the greatest, the most important commandment of all’. Jesus answers him saying: “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment”. This are direct quotes from the Books of Deuteronomy 6:4-5, and Leviticus 19:18. Lesson: our Lord quotes from the Old Testament. This is a reminder that the Bible is one Book!

Moses told the people of Israel that in the Promised Land, they should obey God’s commands. They will fear God and hate sin. Their obedience will be rewarded with a long, fruitful, and prosperous life. “Now this is the commandment, and these are the statutes and judgments which the Lord your God has commanded to teach you, that you may observe them in the land which you are crossing over to possess, that you may fear the Lord your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, you and your son and your grandson, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged. Therefore hear, O Israel, and be careful to observe it, that it may be well with you, and that you may multiply greatly as the Lord God of your fathers has promised you, ‘a land flowing with milk and honey.’ “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates” (Deut 6:1-8). It is the duty of the parents to teach their children God’s laws. Moses says that God’s commands should be written on their hand, forehead, on their doorposts and gates.

First, Jesus says that God is One! All other religions have many idols. Each little god has his own commands to obey. Lesson: it is impossible to be a faithful pagan. Jesus tells them that God is only One and His Word is in the Bible! Christianity is simple! Love is simple! According to our Lord, who is God Himself, LOVE is the most important command of all. “God is Love” (1 Jn 4:8). What God expects is not some religion, but genuine spiritual sacrificial Love, for Him and for other people. The principle of Love as a command is now introduced by our Lord. To be fulfilled, the Ten Commandments direct us to LOVE! What is this particular command? “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.” God says that they should love Him with all their being, body, soul, and spirit. Then Moses says: “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.” In other words, the commands are not just some religious activities. They must be obeyed first in the heart. They are spiritual laws. But what happened? Most of Jews obeyed the commands only outwardly. They became very religious, busy with ceremonies in the temple. Most male Jews, even today, when they go for prayers, carry God’s commands in a little black box on their foreheads, called Phylacteries. They write God’s commands on leather strips and wrap them on their arms. They also write God’s commands in a little metal box called Mezuzah and nail it to the doors or their gates. Each time they come home they touch it. They pay the price to teach their children God’s commands. These activities they do habitually, even without thinking about God. They are spiritually detached from God’s Word. This religious behavior leads to pride and hypocrisy. These are the people who resisted Jesus and eventually condemned Him to death.

Jesus then added the second command: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself”. This is a quote from the Book of Leviticus 19:18. “You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another. And you shall not swear by My name falsely, nor shall you profane the name of your God: I am the Lord. ‘You shall not cheat your neighbor, nor rob him. The wages of him who is hired shall not remain with you all night until morning. You shall not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling block before the blind, but shall fear your God: I am the Lord. ‘You shall do no injustice in judgment. You shall not be partial to the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty. In righteousness you shall judge your neighbor. You shall not go about as a talebearer among your people; nor shall you take a stand against the life of your neighbor: I am the Lord. ‘You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord” (Lev 19:11-18). God commands His people, that for His sake, they should be kind and generous with one another. God forbids stealing, lying, cheating, slander, grudging, and gossip. In other words, God commands that you should not hurt or exploit anyone. God positively commands that His people should love their neighbors as themselves. Since then, the Jews obeyed even this command, but only partially. What they understand by the word ‘neighbor’ is a fellow Jew. As in the Parable of the Good Samaritan, they did not regard a Gentile Samaritan as ‘neighbor’. They hated the Gentiles. But Jesus says that any human being in need is a neighbor who is to be loved and helped (Lk 10:29-37). Lesson: It is only by the power of the Holy Spirit that a man can obey God’s command to love God and to love his neighbor! Selah!

We see that LOVE is now the new commandment that fulfills the Ten Commandants. Jesus quotes two different verses from the Old Testament. He did not add anything new to God’s written Word. What is new is that for the first time in the history of mankind, our Lord combines these two verses together. He commands us to love God first and love men second. This is brilliant. Love applies to God first, because He is our creator and God. The result is that God’s love helps us to love ourselves. From the overflow of that love, we now extend it to other people. This is always the correct order: God-you-neighbor! You cannot love people without loving God first. And you cannot love others if you hate yourself. True worship is not just some religious activity. It manifests especially in loving humanity. Here you see that true religion is deeply personal. It is not just some ceremonies in the church. It touches the heart. It makes men to be better men. Unbelievers cannot love God or man. All children of God love their families and neighbors. Lovers are leaders! They change their environment for better! Love is the mark of a true believer. God’s commands are beyond our ability, but if you are willing to obey, God gives you the ability! No more excuses! Selah!

The religious Pharisees have complicated God’s Law with many of their own smaller laws. I read that they added 613 additional laws to the Ten Commandments. Clearly, no man could obey all of these. The ordinary men became confused. “God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints” (1 Cor 14:33). Lesson: In the church, there must be submission and beautiful order. The word confusion means disorder or disturbance. This happens when people are rebellious, proud. They all want to be leaders. They talk at the same time. The church is not a noisy restless crowd. It is like an army where everyone knows his position, submitting one to another in love. This scribe was not supposed to be confused because he was a Pharisee. But he too felt that their laws were too oppressive to the common men. His conscience worried him. See the power of a good conscience! The religious rulers gave the impression that God is a tyrant, a bully, or an oppressor. And this was a lie. Jesus simplified the Law. He introduced the simple commandment of love. It was easy to understand, remember and practice. Love is the primary motive in our relationship with God with men. The commandment of love destroyed the stronghold of religious oppression. That is one reason why the religious rulers hated Jesus and wanted Him dead. It is because He removed their authority in interpreting the law. Selah!

The scribe answered ‘wisely’. He said that Love is greater than all the outward religious ceremonies. He saw the priority and power of love. Jesus was impressed with his answer. He said: “You and not far from the Kingdom of God”. By these words, Jesus now displays love towards him. He gives him the encouragement and the warning of Love! Clearly, Jesus compliments him. Why? Because the man is honest. He spoke his mind. His conscience bothered him and he wanted help. He was not a hypocrite like the majority of the Pharisees. He had the courage to separate himself from their wickedness against Jesus. Many people are too cowards to be honest before Jesus. But this man spoke the truth. Love loves truth! He did not try to trap Jesus in His words like his colleagues. He wanted to know the truth. He was an intelligent man who clearly studied the Word of God. Lesson: any time you see a truly intelligent and honest man, that man will end knowing the only living God. Jesus told him he is ‘not far from the Kingdom.’ That means some people are closer than others from the narrow gate. Like this man, they need to first seek God’s Kingdom and pay the price to enter. They need to repent of sins and surrender to Christ, who is the King of the kingdom. Jesus’ answer is a compliment. It is also a warning. Because a man can die one step away from the gate of heaven. To be almost saved, is to be unsaved. We don’t know if this man became saved or not. But face to face with Jesus, with the King of God’s kingdom, he heard the truth that alone sets free.

Lesson: Many people go to church, seem very committed to religious activities, but are not born again. Many people have postponed entering eternal life, even to their dying hour. This is a warning for all of us, not to postpone giving our lives to Jesus. Because tomorrow is not promised to any man. I pray that you make peace with God today, until you have the assurance of your salvation. It is possible to waste the grace of God. It is possible to go to church, listen to sermons about the grace of God, sing songs about it, and still, not appropriate it in your spirit. “We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For He says: “In an acceptable time I have heard you, and in the day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor 6:1, 2). There is an acceptable time and a day of salvation. That day is today! It is right now! There is a danger of hearing truth and not acting on it. The heart will become hardened. Unbelief is a stronghold. Postponing becomes a spiritual habit. Truth not acted upon starts to fade away from the memory.

GOD’S WORD IS YOUR SURGEON, JUDGE, PRIEST, AND KING

“Let us therefore make every effort to enter that rest [of God, to know and experience it for ourselves], so that no one will fall by following the same example of disobedience [as those who died in the wilderness]. For the word of God is living and active and full of power [making it operative, energizing, and effective]. It is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating as far as the division of the soul and spirit [the completeness of a person], and of both joints and marrow [the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and judging the very thoughts and intentions of the heart. And not a creature exists that is concealed from His sight, but all things are open and exposed, and revealed to the eyes of Him with whom we have to give account. Inasmuch then as we [believers] have a great High Priest who has [already ascended and] passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession [of faith and cling tenaciously to our absolute trust in Him as Savior]. For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize and understand our weaknesses and temptations, but One who has been tempted [knowing exactly how it feels to be human] in every respect as we are, yet without [committing any] sin. Therefore, let us [with privilege] approach the throne of grace [that is, the throne of God’s gracious favor] with confidence and without fear, so that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find [His amazing] grace to help in time of need [an appropriate blessing, coming just at the right moment]” (Heb 4:11-16; AMP). We are warned against the sin of disobedience to God’s Word. There is no mercy for the unrepentant rebellious sinner. The punishment is that they cannot enter the rest of God. The punishment manifests as slavery to anxiety. Work on earth is never satisfying. That promised rest is found only in Christ, who is also the Living Word of God. You see here that God’s Word is a Person. Only a Person is alive and active. God’s Word enters into man thru his ears and works inside. He works as a surgeon. He judges your thoughts and motives as a judge in his court room. Nobody can stop God’s Word. There is no shield to block it. It is sharp like a double-edged sword used in battle. The Word does a unique, vital, delicate surgery. It separates the soul and the spirit. Nobody else can do this work! Man is a spirit (like God), has a soul and lives in a body. Man is like an egg: The shell is the body, the white is the soul, and the yellow yoke is the spirit. The spirit has the greatest value because it is made from the same ‘material’ as God. It is in the yoke that the seed is. The soul is the personality of the individual man. Next to the human spirit, the soul has value. Lastly, the cheapest of all is the body, made originally from dust. For your information, how much is your dust worth? The human body is made mostly from oxygen, carbon, and hydrogen. The total price for these elements in a corpse is about 5$ (4000 Naira)!!!

The soul is made of three parts: mind (capacity to think rationally), emotions (capacity to feel love, hatred, etc) and the will (capacity to decide, to make choices). At a deeper level than the soul is the human spirit, also divided into three parts: intuition (the spiritual capacity to know something without any evidence or help from the mind), communion (the center that connects with the Holy Spirit and helps us to worship God) and the conscience (the center of knowing what is right and what is wrong). (To remember easier the soul is MEW and the spirit is ICC). “The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being” (Gen 2:7). Man is a combination of dust and God’s Spirit. God made man from cheap material available on earth. He did not use gold or diamonds to make our bodies. He used dust as Potter uses clay to make beautiful pots. The fragile body is a reminder that God created us humble. To live, we must depend on God. At the end of life, the body goes back to dust. The expensive part of man is the spirit and the soul which are formed thru God’s Breath or Spirit. “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body” (2 Cor 4:7-10).

Lesson: The weakness of the body reminds us of death. Jesus died for us. We died with Him. The power we have, the expensive treasure, is located in our spirit. We look fragile but we are strong. The enemy thinks that he can kill us anytime. We suffer painful trials. We not only survive, but we also become stronger in faith, more like Jesus. God’s child is a mystery the world does not understand and cannot defeat! Selah!

“Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So, God created man in His own image; in the image of God, He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth… Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So, the evening and the morning were the sixth day” (Gen 1:26-28, 31). Originally, the spirit of man, which alone connects with God’s Spirit, was leading him. Intuition told Adam and Eve what to know about God, about life in general. It made them spiritually intelligent and wise. The center of communion helped Adam to always worship God, to love His voice, and His Word. Conscience was the leader in making all decisions. Therefore, the spirit led the soul. The mind, emotions and the will were totally under the leadership of the spirit. The will decided only led by intuition and conscience. The body cooperated with the soul and spirit. It was the perfect God’s design for man on earth. God declared that the creation of man was ‘very good’. To this man God gave His blessing. He gave Adam the power to rule and multiply. Adam and Eve had authority over all the animals including the snake in the Garden. The devil used the snake to tempt Eve. She was not supposed to submit to the counsel of the snake. Why? Because she was in charge. The snake was to be her servant, and not her master. The only person she was to submit to, was God and her husband. By taking the advice from a lower created being, she lowered herself too much. This is sinful, slavery, and false humility. In this way, she submitted to the devil. Adam joined her in her deception. This is called ‘the original sin’. It affected all humanity. God judged them. The snake was cursed to forever stay in the dust.

When sin entered, God’s perfect arrangement in man was damaged. Man still carries the image of God, but that image is broken. In his sinful state, man’s spirit is so weak that it cannot control the soul anymore. The conscience works but it is not perfect as before. The soul was to be under the control of the spirit. The spirit was the king of the castle, the soul was to be the personal servant, and the body was the worker. Now, the soul has rebelled. The personal servant locked the king in his chambers and took control over the workers. Sinful man is now ruled by his own mind, emotions and will. The body obeys the soul and commits sin. The spirit’s voice, the royal conscience, is almost silent, but it still whispers within. What is the solution? The Son of God became Man. He died for sinners, to save their souls. He gave sinners life in their dying spirit. The spirit now rules the soul and the body as it was in the beginning. To be born again is not just some religious decision. God’s Spirit activates the human spirit. Man was dead in sin. He is now made alive again. A child of God needs to learn how to walk led by God’s Spirit. This is a walk of faith led by God’s Word. Every step forward strengthens the conscience, helping the will to make godly decisions. Walk like Jesus!

The Word of God is the only power that can separate the soul and the spirit. The soul has lost the power to silence or manipulate the spirit. The spirit-king now rules in his domain. The Word of God judges all thoughts and decisions thru the conscience. In case you disobey God’s commands, the Word and your conscience will judge you. You must repent. Go to the High Priest, Jesus Christ. He will meet with you at the throne of mercy and grace. He will forgive and cleanse you again. Then you move on doing exploits for Jesus, the Living Word! Halleluiah!    

THE GIFT OF CONSCIENCE (Romans 2:1-16)

Apostle Paul writes here about God’s judgment. It is based on God’s Law. Before Christ, the Jews alone knew the Law. But they took it for granted that just by knowing the Law, they will be free from God’s judgment. But Law must be obeyed. They will be judged according to their knowledge. Lesson: We must be doers of God’s Word and not just hearers. The Gentiles (the non-Jews, people like us) do not know the Law. They are ‘a law to themselves’. What does that mean? God will judge us according to our conscience. Our conscience is now our Judge. Selah!

The word conscience in Latin means ‘science (or knowledge) with somebody’. Conscience helps us to know God and ourselves. Conscience is an inbuilt spiritual sense of knowing what is good and what is bad. It affects the soul of man (his mind, emotions and will). Conscience has also been described as an internal court of law. There is a judge, a guilty person, lawyers, witnesses, and the jury. This internal drama is on and helps us to obey God’s moral laws. Even if the voice of the conscience is silenced for years, it cannot be totally stopped. One day, suddenly, the conscience comes out from its prison and shouts even more. Like God, conscience cannot be bribed or manipulated to change her stand. You either make her your friend or it becomes your enemy. If the conscience is obeyed, peace is restored to the mind. If the warnings of conscience are ignored, the pain of guilt manifests as: anxiety, loss/increase in appetite, losing or gaining weight, sleeplessness, stomach pains, indigestion, being moody or oversensitive, inferiority complex, feeling overwhelmed by life, fear of the future and fear of death, suicidal thoughts. Selah!

Conscience is part of a man’s spirit. The soul of man is made of three parts: the Mind, the Emotions, and the Will. With our soul we think, feel, and make decisions. Inside the soul, there is the spirit. Man’s spirit is also made of three parts: The conscience, intuition, and communion. The center of intuition helps me to know the truth deep within, even without thinking about it. For example, I meet a man. I suddenly ‘know’ that he is an evil man. I can’t prove it, I don’t understand it, but I ‘know’ it. The center of communion is the place that connects with God and helps me to worship God in spirit. Conscience is the center that tells me what is right and what is wrong. We are told that God judges the unbelievers according to their conscience. Even for the Christians, the conscience is a great monitor. Inside your heart you have God’s Law, and God’s Love. These two directly connect with your conscience and faith. “The purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith” (1Tim 1:5). A good conscience helps you to love God and man. It also increases your faith.

The conscience is a gift from God. It helps man to know the difference between God and the devil, between good and bad and make decisions of moral conduct. Conscience is the greatest protection we have against hypocrisy. Conscience will argue with you when you don’t practice what you know, or what you preach. The conscience warns you when you only study God’s Word theoretically without applying it in daily living. There is no way you can win the battle against your conscience. She will speak and warn you to your grave. This is the greatest lesson: listen and obey your conscience. Never fight your conscience! Obey it! Then you will have peace! Selah!

There are different types of consciences:

*Good, pure conscience, without offence towards God and man.

The believers hold “the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience” (1 Tim 3:9). “I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit” (Rom 9:1). “Then Paul, looking earnestly at the council, said, “Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day” (Ac 23:1). “I confess to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect, so I worship the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the Law and in the Prophets. I have hope in God, which they themselves also accept, that there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust. This being so, I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men” (Ac 24:14-16). The words ‘without offence’ mean a clear, blameless conscience, free from any unrepented sin or guilt. Paul says that in the presence of the Holy Spirit, his conscience bears him witness that he is not a liar. His conscience does not condemn or trouble him. He does not feel guilty. He has peace! His conscience is like a cup that is not damaged. In it, he holds faith, hope, and love.  

*Weak, defiled, easily wounded conscience.

“Therefore, concerning the eating of things offered to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but one. For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords), yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live. However, there is not in everyone that knowledge; for some, with consciousness of the idol, until now eat it as a thing offered to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. But food does not commend us to God; for neither if we eat are we the better, nor if we do not eat are we the worse. 9 But beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak. For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, will not the conscience of him who is weak be emboldened to eat those things offered to idols? And because of your knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died? But when you thus sin against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never again eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble” (1 Cor 8:4-13). Love is sensitive not to hurt another man’s conscience. The weak Christian is afraid of idols. If you are a mature believer and you are not afraid to eat food dedicated to idols. That is good. But please be careful! A baby Christian may try to imitate you, but his conscience is weak and will worry him. Love thinks of others and not only of itself. Lesson: For the sake of love, I limit my freedom so that a weaker brother will not fall into sin. Love always thinks of others! “To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled. They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work” (Tit 1:15, 16).

*Seared conscience

“Now, the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth” (1 Tim 4:1-3). “A bad conscience is a snake in your heart” (Jewish proverb). A seared conscience is the worst type. In the past, doctors used hot metal to burn the flesh to stop bleeding. This process is called cauterization. The blessing stops but the scar destroys the sensation of feeling. In the same way, a seared conscience has no feeling; it is paralyzed and useless. The sinner does not feel guilty when he commits sin. This is a very dangerous situation. If you resist your conscience for a long time, you can damage it beyond repair. Not only that the conscience does not tell you the truth, but it will now advise you to commit sin and you don’t feel repentant. This process happens through deception of lying demons, using false teachers who preach wrong doctrines. Even the Christians can be affected. They ‘depart from faith’ and backslide. It affects the desire to have a happy marriage. It influences the choice of food. Many strict diets are the result of such lies. To make progress in life, there is a need for spiritual warfare. Paul says: “This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck, of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I delivered to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme” (1 Tim 1:18-20). Ignoring the voice of conscience damages your faith and testimony as a Christian. Be careful to live with a clean conscience before God and man! That is power! Amen!

Another function of the conscience is to remind man of the last judgment. The pain of a wounded conscience, of remorse or godly sorrow, is the greatest pain of all. The reason why men fear death it is because they already feel the pain of the conscience convicting them of sin. It is said that the greatest things that makes a man know that God exists is when he sees the stars in the night sky and when he discovers that he has a conscience. When a man obeys God’s Law, his conscience is happy. The man feels the presence of God around him. When man disobeys God’s Law, he not only feels the voice of his conscience convicting him of sin, by he feels God is angry with him. The connection between conscience and God’s voice has been observed for ages. The great crisis in life happens when man has to decide the path to move on. The will stands at the junction. There are two options. One according to God’s will, obeying His Law. The other is to disobey God and His Law. Conscience advice and warns the will to take the path of obedience. Often, to obey God and conscience, is totally different than what man likes in his fleshly nature. It may also be different than the opinion of friends and family. But the will of God must be done. That is the only way to please the conscience and have peace. Many of the martyrs chose to die than to disobey their conscience. The saints of old said that when the Holy Spirit convicts a sinner of his sin, He uses the conscience to bring the fear of death. This leads to repentance, confession or sin and salvation.

In the Old Testament, the word ‘conscience’ does not appear. But the actions of the conscience working are there. For example, when Adam and Eve sinned, they hear God’s voice. Their guilty conscience makes them afraid of God and they hide behind the trees. “Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.” (Gen 3:9,10). All the murderers like Cain, King Saul, King Ahab, King Herod, and even Judas, felt the pangs of a guilty conscience but they chose to suppress it even unto death. For example, when news about Jesus doing miracles came to Herod, he said that Jesus is John the Baptist. Why? Because he killed John trying to please a dancing girl and his guests (Mk 6:14;29). He liked John and regretted killing him. His conscience terrorized him to the hour of his death. But he died unrepentant. This is a horror story and a warning for all!

Conscience is a delicate instrument that must be respected. Church leaders have been guilty of trying to tamper with men’s conscience. The manipulation of conscience can be a destructive force within the Christian community. We should not tamper with our own conscience or the conscience of others. To make people feel guilty using man’s laws in the church is sin. This false guilt is a great burden on many. For example, telling people that not paying tithes, they will go to hell, that is sin. On the other hand, keeping quiet when men commit adultery, giving them false peace, that is also sin. “It is the nature of all hypocrites and false prophets to create a conscience where there is none, and to cause conscience to disappear where it does exist” (M. Luther). The pastor must preach God’s Word without fear or favor. He must be sensitive to the presence of God and his own conscience. He must keep a reasonable social distance between himself and the people he leads. This is to avoid emotional manipulation that damages people’s conscience. A damaged conscience destroys the power to love God and man. Our Lord has warned us of the rise of sin in the last days. “Many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come” (Matt 24:11-14). Lawlessness damages the conscience. Love then grows cold.

Who had a guilty conscience? Adam and Eve, Jacob when he cheated on Esau, Joseph’s brothers. David had a guilty conscience when cut Saul’s robe, when he killed Uriah and when he numbered Israel. Peter felt guilty when he denied Jesus. A guilty conscience is hell on earth and points to hell beyond. It is a heavy burden. A man with a guilty conscience is lonely. He has no true friends. He is always hiding. Until we deal with our sin, the conscience will still fight you. How do you feel when you don’t pray for one full day? Or when you use vulgar words? Or when the bank officer gives you more money than he was supposed to give you and you keep silent? Jesus convicted the accusers of the woman by their conscience. They all dropped the stones and went away (Jn 8:9-11).

In the US there is a Conscience Fund. People who feel guilty for cheating the US government of taxes can go to any post office and pay there. The fund was created in 1811 and received US$5 during its first year and over US$5.7million since then. At Niagara Falls there is a place called redemption point. If you swim past that point, you will die. In 1883, an English man called Matthew Webb, a champion swimmer, tried to beat that point. He drowned in the waters. Be careful to obey your conscience! God speaks thru it! “God is wise in heart and mighty in strength. Who has hardened himself against Him and prospered? He removes the mountains, and they do not know when He overturns them in His anger” (Job 9:4, 5). “He who is often rebuked, and hardens his neck, Will suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy” (PV 29:1).

How to repair the conscience? Go to Jesus! It is His gift to you! Repent! Confess your sins to God and man. Conscience can be repaired and trained only by God’s Word. “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water” (Heb 10:22). “For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” (Heb 9:13, 14). Love helps you clear your conscience. Love rejoices with the truth! A good conscience is a soft pillow. It is a continuous heart feast. “having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed” (1Pet 3:16). Your conscience should have a loud voice to warn you! No sleeping tablet replaces a clean conscience.  Pray with David: “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness, according to the multitude of Your tender mercies. Blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin” (Ps 51:1, 2).

Finally, let Martin Luther speak to us. This was Luther’s defense of his writings at the Diet of Worms in 1521. When accused of blasphemy against the Pope and King, he said: “Unless I am convicted by Scripture and plain reason-I do not accept the authority of popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other-my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand, I cannot do otherwise. God help me. Amen!” Worship the Lord!