Monday, January 21, 2019
![Heaven's Goodwill by [Lockley, EP]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51RAjG0hJQL.jpg)
Faith That Thinks
![Faith That Thinks: Changing Your Mind by [Lockley, EP]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41qGJmT25YL.jpg)
Use the link above to download
You are an amazing and powerful living being in the earth. Your existence in the universe was not a mistake. No matter what you have experienced in life so far, there is an opportunity to become successful.
On earth, we live in time and must recognize that it is a non-renewable resource. There is a purpose for our existence and we find it when we begin to search for it with every bit of energy we can muster. While we were made with the divine purpose to live forever, in time we spend our days working.
The problem most people have with work is that they confuse it with their job. EP Lockley says that our work is our divine purpose for living in time and our job is what we do to earn a living. Work is something you would do even if you did not need a job. To be happy in life, you should desire to find your work. A great way to find your work is to learn how to think, use your faith, and seek a relationship with the Creator.
This book will help awake your desire to become successful and show you pointers about how to change your mindset, use your faith, and add God to the thinking process.
Faith That Thinks is a revolutionary tool that will help all persons of faith create actionable plans for their life. In this easy-to-follow blueprint, EP explores the practical side of the Bible to reveal the importance of having divine input into the success plan.
In Faith that Thinks, the reader is encouraged to include inspirational principles in the thinking process. One can use divine energy to find motivation and transform the thinking process that will drive positive results for years to come. Faith that Thinks creates a holistic road map to success that will get you to consider blending your faith with your thought process.
Your future is your dream, one that you want to come to pass without delay. Faith that Thinks is the tool you need to make that dream a reality.
On earth, we live in time and must recognize that it is a non-renewable resource. There is a purpose for our existence and we find it when we begin to search for it with every bit of energy we can muster. While we were made with the divine purpose to live forever, in time we spend our days working.
The problem most people have with work is that they confuse it with their job. EP Lockley says that our work is our divine purpose for living in time and our job is what we do to earn a living. Work is something you would do even if you did not need a job. To be happy in life, you should desire to find your work. A great way to find your work is to learn how to think, use your faith, and seek a relationship with the Creator.
This book will help awake your desire to become successful and show you pointers about how to change your mindset, use your faith, and add God to the thinking process.
Faith That Thinks is a revolutionary tool that will help all persons of faith create actionable plans for their life. In this easy-to-follow blueprint, EP explores the practical side of the Bible to reveal the importance of having divine input into the success plan.
In Faith that Thinks, the reader is encouraged to include inspirational principles in the thinking process. One can use divine energy to find motivation and transform the thinking process that will drive positive results for years to come. Faith that Thinks creates a holistic road map to success that will get you to consider blending your faith with your thought process.
Your future is your dream, one that you want to come to pass without delay. Faith that Thinks is the tool you need to make that dream a reality.
Saturday, June 23, 2018
Are Visits to Heaven for Real? Rebuttal
Are Visits to Heaven for Real?
Rebuttal
By EP Lockley
This article is a response to Pastor John MacArthur’s article “Are Visits to Heaven for Real”. In this article, I will also reveal my personal experiences with the subject of visiting heaven.
After reading MacArthur’s article, I contend he wrote his position on the subject based upon one particular book and a movie. I am convinced MacArthur erred when he assumed people who claim to admit visits to heaven are conveying messages from their imagination.
MacArthur’s article was the catalyst needed for me to go public about the wonderful heavenly encounters I too enjoyed.
There were some reservations about going public about my heavenly experiences simply because I did not fully understand the things I saw there and I struggled with Scripture to corroborate it all.
The seriousness of explaining my encounters was foundational and intricate in ensuring my revelation knowledge stays within Scriptural boundaries.
In Christianity, we teach about humanity’s tripartite composition: spirit, soul, and body. When the body ceases to function, the spirit and soul enters an eternal status somewhere in the world of departed spirits.
There are people gifted in diverse areas. Scripture corroborates there are people gifted in spiritual matters. However, those gifted in spiritual matters can use it to build God’s kingdom or work against it. For example, in matters of national security, each country has spies who act as intelligence to keep the government abreast of situations that can harm its citizens. If a threat develops, the government can prepare to address the threat before it becomes active. I believe the same intelligence exists in the spiritual world and there are gifted people on both sides (good and evil).
The article written by MacArthur speaks about people who go public about having heavenly encounters. While the article seems to target one particular book and movie, I felt led to respond in an effort to convince those who will believe there is a place outside of the physical world where people live. Heaven is a real place and, I went there.
I visited heaven for the first time Thanksgiving 1999 and I will never forget it.
Early Thanksgiving night, I lay in bed and slept. Suddenly, I stood atop a mountain and saw the food we cooked Thanksgiving day. Previously, I remember praying over the meal and thanking God for providing us with the resources we needed. The food appeared before me and tumbled down the side of the mountain landing on the shoreline. I ended up on the shoreline too and ended up moving into the water where I experienced a water baptism.
Following the baptism, I entered a train similar to the subway cars we are accustomed here on the earth. The conductor spoke on the intercom and the doors closed.
The train moved in the direction of the light. The light became brighter and brighter. I was moving into the presence of Father God. God began to speak with me, identifying Himself. I did not understand how or why God would bring me into his presence but the experience was very humbling. The light was too bright for me to bare, as it began to pierce the hands covering my closed eyes. I began the train ride sitting on a seat, but at this point in the ride, I had fallen on my knees without as much as a thought. My spirit/soul automatically fell down as dead before the Father. As the light became unbearable, the train began to move in reverse. God was no longer a mystery in my life, He was now a confirmed being, my heavenly Father.
God’s voice was filled with peace, love, and comfort. I did not focus on what was being said. I wanted the voice to talk forever. However, as the train went in reverse to the light God began repeating the words, “Only Believe.”
The first experience was wonderful and several more visits became a teaching opportunity. People need to know more about God’s dwelling place. It is His desire for every soul to be in fellowship with Him.
God is my provider. I seek no fame or fortune for having the experiences.
After reading Pastor John MacArthur’s article which appears to defend his view on the subject of heavenly visits, I assert that he misses the message of the cross entirely when he dismisses individual accounts of heavenly visits.
MacArthur appears to behave like a realist when he measures one particular storyline and judges all heavenly encounter stories as imaginative.
I have come to the knowledge that Jesus paid the sin debt for everyone and forever. Humanity has access to the Father, through the work of the cross. If we believe in this work, we have salvation and are welcomed into God’s heaven.
MacArthur seems to write his article from an angle of one major book and movie and seems to warn believers about trusting sources outside of Scripture. I support MacArthur’s potential to arm the body of Christ against heresy. However, I am offended when he lumps everyone’s heavenly experiences into one argument.
We live in a world where light and darkness share space. Jesus taught about wheat and tares growing in the same field.
Some people may not accept sincere stories about heavenly visits and there are many like me who bear record about the place and have not sought to go public. I retain reservation about sharing my experiences because of concerns of contradicting Scripture.
After much meditation and prayer about my experiences and seeking to corroborate what I experienced with Scripture, His Holy Spirit simply enlighten me with the revealing fact of God’s vastness in which every soul could see heaven and enjoy a different experience.
The great “I AM” God can and is everything we desire and need to be fulfilled in this short physical life and beyond.
The Father’s world is unlimited and the things I beheld, heard, and experienced were testimonies that what is written in Scripture is true, and will completely come to past.
Pastor MacArthur writes, “There’s nothing transcendent or even particularly enlightening about Colton’s heaven”, referring to the book and movie. He writes, “They are merely figments of the human imagination, not true visions of heaven as it is described in God’s Word.”
Prior to my multiple heavenly experiences, I would have adopted MacArthur’s point of view. As a seminary graduate, my total reliance was studying the Scriptures and dismissing anything outside of it. I too struggled with my experiences, often talking to God about it and allowing Him to minister about what I beheld, experienced, and heard.
While MacArthur writes in defense of the body of Christ, I cast caution on his efforts to deny all heavenly encounter stories.
In defense of what God allowed me to see, I move with compassion to begin bringing illumination to the eternal side of life.
MacArthur writes, “Studying mystical accounts of supposed journeys into the afterlife yields nothing but confusion, contradiction, false hope, bad doctrine and a host of similar evils.”
The body of Christ is greatly diverse in the interpretation of Scripture. People need to hear more about God’s heaven and how Scripture corroborates its existence and purpose. People also need to know that Scripture has been misinterpreted by some preachers and teachers which has a bearing on how you live in eternity.
I believe heavenly visits are necessary proof alerting humanity about the realness of God’s written word to man.
In my years of teaching Scripture to diverse populations, I conclude, the entire body of Christ is without unity in matters of truth. I’m often burdened after hearing an erroneous gospel message from those within the faith.
Everyone who has had a heavenly visit may not be scholars of the biblical text. Some people may not be able to biblically explain their experience. These laymen may have a basic faith in the cross and without formal biblical training. There are people from every continent of the world in heaven, some may have had little to no training in Scripture, but Jesus died for them too!
Earlier I mentioned my experience with God’s glory. MacArthur states,“they say…little about God or His glory.” I can say everyone in heaven does not experience the same illumination of God’s glory. While we like to say there is no distance in the spirit, I’d rather say the closer you get to God’s presence, the brighter the light. At proximity, the light from God’s glory penetrates through you to a point where you can do nothing but bow down and bathe in His glory. However, there are places in heaven where you can see His glory but you are not affected by it because you are far away.
MacArthur states, “…the authors of these stories seem obsessed with details like how good they felt-how peaceful… how they received privileges and accolades… how many things they think they now understand perfectly… they highlight everything but what’s truly important about heaven.”
I like Jesus’ words when the people asked him to show them the Father, he replied, “anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). Jesus did the work of the Father on earth and showed people what the Father was really like.
Likewise, Jesus gave us an example of what to pray. In one phrase he said “in earth as it is in heaven” Matthew 6:10. When we see the good attributes of earth, we are seeing heaven. Earth’s physical features are a duplicate of the features in heaven. In heaven, there are cities with highways, transportation on the ground and in the air; buildings, communities, schools, shopping malls, amusement parks, recreational parks, water, and land.
MacArthur writes, “But if you actually saw heaven and lived to tell about it, those things are not what would capture your heart and imagination.” He continues with, “You would be preoccupied instead with the majesty and grace of the One whose glory fills the place.” The only problem with this is that those in heaven are actually in complete unity with God. My first experience and back, I was in awe about God’s glory. It took me years to really go public about it. The other visits were wonderful. However, I realized that it was not normal for someone to have so many heavenly visits, there had to be a reason.
MacArthur writes about “Crossing the Boundaries.” I must tell you that one could not enter heaven uninvited. Heaven is a secure world. I witnessed beings trying to find a way inside. There is a force that protects all the inhabitants from unauthorized beings.
I dismiss his section “Crossing the Boundaries.” Those that truly experienced heaven were definitely invited. Any occultism references should be with an understanding that spiritual beings exist within the earth’s heaven and tampering with it would only reveal what is in the earthly realm alone. People can also get misinformation about heaven from seducing spirits.
I am in agreement with MacArthur when he writes, “we are forbidden in all spiritual matters to go beyond what is written” and he references 1 Corinthians 4:6. I have a seminary educational background and it would not allow me to see beyond the text. I tried to dismiss my experiences, citing that it was not scriptural. In prayer, I asked the Father for scriptural revelation to confirm the things I saw so that I would not plant heresy among the churches. In solution, many biblical references became apparent and I was able to make full sense of my experiences.
I disagree with his section “The Glories of Heaven. MacArthur is sure to speak about the real Christian motivation towards understanding heaven. Scripture is clear that we “fix (our) hearts on heaven.”He states.“No wonder Christians are intrigued with the subject. But no matter how much they might obsess over what heaven is like, people who fill their head with a lot of fantastic or delusional ideas from others’ near-death experiences have not truly set their minds on things above.”He calls the experiences of those that visited heaven, “dreams and speculations of human minds.”
The truth about fixing our hearts on heaven is not complete without understanding how to prepare to live there. Heaven is a prepared place for prepared people. Christian leaders are guessing about how to prepare people to live in heaven. The more trustworthy sources that give revelation about the inner workings of God’s heaven the more prepared we can be.
MacArthur’s article appears to be written to protect the integrity of Scripture about the inner workings of God’s heaven. To avoid heresy, we teach biblical scholars to stick to Scripture and allow it to interpret itself.
I am a fan of truth and sticking to the text. I have scolded some and shunned others with personal interpretations of Scripture. We must keep the Word of God pure at all cost. I will defend the gospel with my life. I have been to heaven and seen things that will strengthen and prepare believers for eternal living. However, if I am not careful to stay in the context of Scripture, I can also mislead those that are striving to reach maturity in the faith.
I have prepared several texts revealing the things that I have seen and experienced in heaven.
My closest ancestors have had heavenly visits while still alive in the earth. My maternal great-grandfather, grandmother, a close cousin, and mother all experienced heaven while they were still alive on the earth. My great grandfather reported visiting heaven a week before he passed. My grandmother had visited heaven a year before she passed. My cousin woke up from a coma and told the family she was going with Jesus. My mother on her deathbed was able to communicate the things she saw in heaven hours before she passed. Each gave specifics about what they saw and who they saw.
Are heavenly visits real?
I believe my ancestors’ experiences were genuine, as mine were totally real.
Are Visits to Heaven for Real?
Rebuttal
By EP Lockley
This article is a response to Pastor John MacArthur’s article “Are Visits to Heaven for Real”. In this article, I will also reveal my personal experiences with the subject of visiting heaven.
After reading MacArthur’s article, I contend he wrote his position on the subject based upon one particular book and a movie. I am convinced MacArthur erred when he assumed people who claim to admit visits to heaven are conveying messages from their imagination.
MacArthur’s article was the catalyst needed for me to go public about the wonderful heavenly encounters I too enjoyed.
There were some reservations about going public about my heavenly experiences simply because I did not fully understand the things I saw there and I struggled with Scripture to corroborate it all.
The seriousness of explaining my encounters was foundational and intricate in ensuring my revelation knowledge stays within Scriptural boundaries.
In Christianity, we teach about humanity’s tripartite composition: spirit, soul, and body. When the body ceases to function, the spirit and soul enters an eternal status somewhere in the world of departed spirits.
There are people gifted in diverse areas. Scripture corroborates there are people gifted in spiritual matters. However, those gifted in spiritual matters can use it to build God’s kingdom or work against it. For example, in matters of national security, each country has spies who act as intelligence to keep the government abreast of situations that can harm its citizens. If a threat develops, the government can prepare to address the threat before it becomes active. I believe the same intelligence exists in the spiritual world and there are gifted people on both sides (good and evil).
The article written by MacArthur speaks about people who go public about having heavenly encounters. While the article seems to target one particular book and movie, I felt led to respond in an effort to convince those who will believe there is a place outside of the physical world where people live. Heaven is a real place and, I went there.
I visited heaven for the first time Thanksgiving 1999 and I will never forget it.
Early Thanksgiving night, I lay in bed and slept. Suddenly, I stood atop a mountain and saw the food we cooked Thanksgiving day. Previously, I remember praying over the meal and thanking God for providing us with the resources we needed. The food appeared before me and tumbled down the side of the mountain landing on the shoreline. I ended up on the shoreline too and ended up moving into the water where I experienced a water baptism.
Following the baptism, I entered a train similar to the subway cars we are accustomed here on the earth. The conductor spoke on the intercom and the doors closed.
The train moved in the direction of the light. The light became brighter and brighter. I was moving into the presence of Father God. God began to speak with me, identifying Himself. I did not understand how or why God would bring me into his presence but the experience was very humbling. The light was too bright for me to bare, as it began to pierce the hands covering my closed eyes. I began the train ride sitting on a seat, but at this point in the ride, I had fallen on my knees without as much as a thought. My spirit/soul automatically fell down as dead before the Father. As the light became unbearable, the train began to move in reverse. God was no longer a mystery in my life, He was now a confirmed being, my heavenly Father.
God’s voice was filled with peace, love, and comfort. I did not focus on what was being said. I wanted the voice to talk forever. However, as the train went in reverse to the light God began repeating the words, “Only Believe.”
The first experience was wonderful and several more visits became a teaching opportunity. People need to know more about God’s dwelling place. It is His desire for every soul to be in fellowship with Him.
God is my provider. I seek no fame or fortune for having the experiences.
After reading Pastor John MacArthur’s article which appears to defend his view on the subject of heavenly visits, I assert that he misses the message of the cross entirely when he dismisses individual accounts of heavenly visits.
MacArthur appears to behave like a realist when he measures one particular storyline and judges all heavenly encounter stories as imaginative.
I have come to the knowledge that Jesus paid the sin debt for everyone and forever. Humanity has access to the Father, through the work of the cross. If we believe in this work, we have salvation and are welcomed into God’s heaven.
MacArthur seems to write his article from an angle of one major book and movie and seems to warn believers about trusting sources outside of Scripture. I support MacArthur’s potential to arm the body of Christ against heresy. However, I am offended when he lumps everyone’s heavenly experiences into one argument.
We live in a world where light and darkness share space. Jesus taught about wheat and tares growing in the same field.
Some people may not accept sincere stories about heavenly visits and there are many like me who bear record about the place and have not sought to go public. I retain reservation about sharing my experiences because of concerns of contradicting Scripture.
After much meditation and prayer about my experiences and seeking to corroborate what I experienced with Scripture, His Holy Spirit simply enlighten me with the revealing fact of God’s vastness in which every soul could see heaven and enjoy a different experience.
The great “I AM” God can and is everything we desire and need to be fulfilled in this short physical life and beyond.
The Father’s world is unlimited and the things I beheld, heard, and experienced were testimonies that what is written in Scripture is true, and will completely come to past.
Pastor MacArthur writes, “There’s nothing transcendent or even particularly enlightening about Colton’s heaven”, referring to the book and movie. He writes, “They are merely figments of the human imagination, not true visions of heaven as it is described in God’s Word.”
Prior to my multiple heavenly experiences, I would have adopted MacArthur’s point of view. As a seminary graduate, my total reliance was studying the Scriptures and dismissing anything outside of it. I too struggled with my experiences, often talking to God about it and allowing Him to minister about what I beheld, experienced, and heard.
While MacArthur writes in defense of the body of Christ, I cast caution on his efforts to deny all heavenly encounter stories.
In defense of what God allowed me to see, I move with compassion to begin bringing illumination to the eternal side of life.
MacArthur writes, “Studying mystical accounts of supposed journeys into the afterlife yields nothing but confusion, contradiction, false hope, bad doctrine and a host of similar evils.”
The body of Christ is greatly diverse in the interpretation of Scripture. People need to hear more about God’s heaven and how Scripture corroborates its existence and purpose. People also need to know that Scripture has been misinterpreted by some preachers and teachers which has a bearing on how you live in eternity.
I believe heavenly visits are necessary proof alerting humanity about the realness of God’s written word to man.
In my years of teaching Scripture to diverse populations, I conclude, the entire body of Christ is without unity in matters of truth. I’m often burdened after hearing an erroneous gospel message from those within the faith.
Everyone who has had a heavenly visit may not be scholars of the biblical text. Some people may not be able to biblically explain their experience. These laymen may have a basic faith in the cross and without formal biblical training. There are people from every continent of the world in heaven, some may have had little to no training in Scripture, but Jesus died for them too!
Earlier I mentioned my experience with God’s glory. MacArthur states,“they say…little about God or His glory.” I can say everyone in heaven does not experience the same illumination of God’s glory. While we like to say there is no distance in the spirit, I’d rather say the closer you get to God’s presence, the brighter the light. At proximity, the light from God’s glory penetrates through you to a point where you can do nothing but bow down and bathe in His glory. However, there are places in heaven where you can see His glory but you are not affected by it because you are far away.
MacArthur states, “…the authors of these stories seem obsessed with details like how good they felt-how peaceful… how they received privileges and accolades… how many things they think they now understand perfectly… they highlight everything but what’s truly important about heaven.”
I like Jesus’ words when the people asked him to show them the Father, he replied, “anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). Jesus did the work of the Father on earth and showed people what the Father was really like.
Likewise, Jesus gave us an example of what to pray. In one phrase he said “in earth as it is in heaven” Matthew 6:10. When we see the good attributes of earth, we are seeing heaven. Earth’s physical features are a duplicate of the features in heaven. In heaven, there are cities with highways, transportation on the ground and in the air; buildings, communities, schools, shopping malls, amusement parks, recreational parks, water, and land.
MacArthur writes, “But if you actually saw heaven and lived to tell about it, those things are not what would capture your heart and imagination.” He continues with, “You would be preoccupied instead with the majesty and grace of the One whose glory fills the place.” The only problem with this is that those in heaven are actually in complete unity with God. My first experience and back, I was in awe about God’s glory. It took me years to really go public about it. The other visits were wonderful. However, I realized that it was not normal for someone to have so many heavenly visits, there had to be a reason.
MacArthur writes about “Crossing the Boundaries.” I must tell you that one could not enter heaven uninvited. Heaven is a secure world. I witnessed beings trying to find a way inside. There is a force that protects all the inhabitants from unauthorized beings.
I dismiss his section “Crossing the Boundaries.” Those that truly experienced heaven were definitely invited. Any occultism references should be with an understanding that spiritual beings exist within the earth’s heaven and tampering with it would only reveal what is in the earthly realm alone. People can also get misinformation about heaven from seducing spirits.
I am in agreement with MacArthur when he writes, “we are forbidden in all spiritual matters to go beyond what is written” and he references 1 Corinthians 4:6. I have a seminary educational background and it would not allow me to see beyond the text. I tried to dismiss my experiences, citing that it was not scriptural. In prayer, I asked the Father for scriptural revelation to confirm the things I saw so that I would not plant heresy among the churches. In solution, many biblical references became apparent and I was able to make full sense of my experiences.
I disagree with his section “The Glories of Heaven. MacArthur is sure to speak about the real Christian motivation towards understanding heaven. Scripture is clear that we “fix (our) hearts on heaven.”He states.“No wonder Christians are intrigued with the subject. But no matter how much they might obsess over what heaven is like, people who fill their head with a lot of fantastic or delusional ideas from others’ near-death experiences have not truly set their minds on things above.”He calls the experiences of those that visited heaven, “dreams and speculations of human minds.”
The truth about fixing our hearts on heaven is not complete without understanding how to prepare to live there. Heaven is a prepared place for prepared people. Christian leaders are guessing about how to prepare people to live in heaven. The more trustworthy sources that give revelation about the inner workings of God’s heaven the more prepared we can be.
MacArthur’s article appears to be written to protect the integrity of Scripture about the inner workings of God’s heaven. To avoid heresy, we teach biblical scholars to stick to Scripture and allow it to interpret itself.
I am a fan of truth and sticking to the text. I have scolded some and shunned others with personal interpretations of Scripture. We must keep the Word of God pure at all cost. I will defend the gospel with my life. I have been to heaven and seen things that will strengthen and prepare believers for eternal living. However, if I am not careful to stay in the context of Scripture, I can also mislead those that are striving to reach maturity in the faith.
I have prepared several texts revealing the things that I have seen and experienced in heaven.
My closest ancestors have had heavenly visits while still alive in the earth. My maternal great-grandfather, grandmother, a close cousin, and mother all experienced heaven while they were still alive on the earth. My great grandfather reported visiting heaven a week before he passed. My grandmother had visited heaven a year before she passed. My cousin woke up from a coma and told the family she was going with Jesus. My mother on her deathbed was able to communicate the things she saw in heaven hours before she passed. Each gave specifics about what they saw and who they saw.
Are heavenly visits real?
I believe my ancestors’ experiences were genuine, as mine were totally real.
Sunday, January 4, 2015
Title Deed Faith
Title Deed Faith
by
EP Lockley Sr.
In the book of Hebrews, the apostle Paul mentions the impossibility of pleasing God without faith. If God requires mankind to have faith, then certainly he must provide this faith. It would be unfair to hold man responsible for not getting faith if he was not given the resources to take it. As a parent, I would not hold any of my children responsible to a standard if I did not initially provide them with proper instruction and tools to get the job done. Only after I have given them the necessary tools for the job would I start holding them accountable. The same holds true with God who has provided every man with what he needs to be connected to Him and be successful in the earth.
I assume that most Christians are struggling with the faith thing. After all, some believers do not really understand how they were saved. The truth is, I struggled with this area myself until I realized some essential pointers that I would like to share with you.
Can you remember when you were new to Christianity and all you knew is that you wanted that feeling that the others were receiving when they accepted Christ? Well maybe not, but that feeling is what can be misleading to future faith. You see faith is not based on a feeling. I will explain it later, but for right now let us look at the scriptures for some answers about new faith.
We get faith by first hearing the word of God preached to us. So hearing is a vital aspect of faith. Let us take a closer look at Romans 10 to see what the apostle Paul is sharing with the Romans. Paul is earnestly seeking for Israel to receive salvation and he carefully breaks down why and how. He mentions how those in Moses’ day obeyed the law unto righteousness but there was something new in the atmosphere that needed their attention. Jesus Christ had fulfilled the law perfectly and therefore ended it. This was the good news that the Jews needed to hear. The Word was now presented to those that needed to get faith. Paul’s concern for Israel was addressed by preaching the Word of God to them.
The apostle informs the Jews of the process of receiving Christ into their hearts. They had to not only say they believed his teaching about salvation with a nodding of the head but they had to declare openly that they would concede the old Mosaic teachings and accept Jesus’ work on the cross as the total way to righteousness and God. Only after denial of the old ways and acceptance of Christ’s resurrection as sufficiency of righteousness would they be saved.
The apostle Paul helps us today see a vital principle in place concerning faith. There are three steps in the faith process that we must take a closer look at. A person receives faith for salvation by confessing the word that they heard, believing in the spirit it is so, and accepting it by acting on it.
NOTE: Confess, Believe, and Accept
While it is true that all believers have experience this process for salvation. Not all believers work on their faith after salvation. While salvation is deliverance from the molestation of our enemies, In the 2000’s Christians are still defeated in many areas of their lives. It is important that more Christians read faith-based materials to attack the enemies of faith. Lack of knowledge is a major enemy of faith.
Romans 10:11,17 mentions that whosoever or any one that hears the Word of God has to power to get faith. Hearing the Word is essential to any vital growth in your faith walk. Acknowledging that hearing is vital to faith building is your first step to increasing your faith potential.
I know many people out there think that they are by nature good people and certainly, they are going to heaven because God would not destroy good people. In fact they have made it so far without faith building. And rightly so they have been fortunate to be successful in the earth without faith, but not knowing God is true to the fact that they have good fortune because Satan gives blessings too. He will keep any lost soul blessed in the earth to keep them away from God. But God cares for those lost souls, in fact, Acts 10-11 gives us an example of the loving Father at work.
Cornelius was a good man who followed the ways of God and Mosaic teachings. However, Cornelius was visited by and angel who told him to send for Peter so that Peter could tell him words to be saved. Cornelius had to hear the Word to get the faith to be saved. Without those words, Cornelius would have been just another lost Jew.
The Word that Peter brought to Cornelius was the spoken word of God or (rhema). In Romans 10, the word is translated as rhema or spoken word.
APPLICATION:
You can boost your faith walk with God by focusing on the (CBA) confessing, believing and accepting principles. It is important as a chosen vessel in the kingdom of Heaven that you fill yourself with faith filled words that will produce success in your everyday life. You do this by putting God’s word in your spirit/heart, believing it or having a firm conviction that it is true and accepting it by acting on it. In the words of Apostle Paul, “For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed” (Romans 10:11). In other words, having a firm conviction that God’s word will not fail, results in the manifestation of what you believe God toward (healing, deliverance, preservation, safety, and prosperity).
Faith that Restores
Jesus’ ministry was filled with many acts of restoring mankind to God’s intended will from creation. Numerous stories and parables depict Jesus healing and raising people from the dead. I once read that Jesus did not heal everyone but He healed all that was in His path. Some had the faith to be healed, others, He rebuked demons and made them whole, while yet those interceding for another to be healed was successful. Healing is a major part of the salvation process whether we accept it or not.
In America, many Christians are suffering from chronic illnesses mostly because of abuse to their bodies. While there are some genetic issues surrounding illness in the church, abuse of the body is a main concern. After a short illness and exercising my faith, God showed me an important principle. I had to exercise my body and eat the right foods He designed for it. We are too busy as earth citizens to focus on eating healthy. We abuse our bodies and expect a miracle from God. Well, God wants us to be on the preventive side. God made of stewards in the earth realm and we must recognize that our bodies are also apart of the management system. Eat poor and live shorter than the 120 years God promised the righteous, eat correctly and live the years as promised. God says he will not go back on his word.
Jesus healed many impotent folk during His ministry. He turned the ministry over to the apostles who repeated what they were taught in from the Lord. In Acts 14, the Apostle Paul and company were preaching at Lystra where there as a man who had been disabled since birth in the crowd. As the impotent man sat there listening to the Word of God preached, he gathered the faith he needed to be healed. The Scripture reveals that this man fixed his position on what was being said. He blocked out all opposition as he gazed at the apostle preaching the word. Paul continued preaching the word as he discerned or noticed that this man qualified himself to be the recipient of God’s grace through the gospel message. Paul acted on this faith and commanded the man to rise up and stand on his feet. As all eyes were gazed in amazement as what was taking place, this man suddenly without thought obeyed Paul.
The important steps to consider are that this man had no knowledge of Jesus’ ministry but heard the word preached through Paul. He not only heard this gospel but also received it into his heart. Because of believing what Paul professed, he acted in response because of the faith he now possessed. The consequences were that he “leaped and walked”.
This gospel Paul preached had to include more than just getting to heaven in Jesus’ name. Otherwise, this man would have not responded with leaping and walking, but rather seeking salvation only. God used the apostle to bring the good news to this man. As mentioned in the previous chapter, salvation includes healing, deliverance, preservation, safety, and prosperity. Physical restoration is God’s will for us.
In Acts 8, Phillip reaped a great harvest of Samaritan souls after he preached the gospel message to them. Before Phillip, there had only been one ministry through the Samaritan region and that was Jesus. He had spent time there after ministering to the Samaritan woman. Among those that brought salvation reports to Philip were healing and depossession from evil spirits, a complete act of salvation that today is overlooked. We can not neglect healing in the church ministry is a part of the salvanistic work of the kingdom of Heaven.
APPLICATION:
The same way we got faith to be saved, is the same process to be healed. However, we must also understand that healing comes through both natural and supernatural means. After Jesus raised the little girl, he instructed her folks to give her nourishment. God does his part, but we are to be good managers of our bodies and eat the right foods, presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, which is our reasonable service. How can we work for God if we are sick and struggling with and ailment.
When the doctors gave me up, increase the medication and told me they did all they could I prayed this prayer to God: Father, I thank you for life and life more abundantly, I repent for neglecting my body in my youth. I will start today learning what foods to eat and exercising appropriately. I will work hard on my part to bring my body back to where you created it to be. I command all my organs to work as you created them to work. I command my blood to be pure with the blood of Jesus. I call my brain, heart, lungs, circulatory, respiratory systems to operate 100%. Now God I expect you to do whatever I can not do. If I do my part, I trust you to do your part and I will refuse to worry or second-guess your divine timing. Thank you for your intervention in my mess-ups, in Jesus’ name I praise you, amen.
Now go after your healing or motivate your love one to get theirs. Do your part and trust God to do the rest. We serve a God that intervenes for us only when it is impossible for man. That’s why Jesus died so that we could be back in covenant with the Father again. A covenant means that each partner will operate in the other partner’s area of weakness. In God’s place, he has no weakness but to work through us in the earth. How can he work through us if we are too feeble to do what He asks… BE RESTORED!
Characteristics of Faith
1 Faith means being sure of the things we hope for and knowing that something is real even if we do not see it.
NCV
1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
NIV
1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
NKJV
1 What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see.
NLT
1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
NRSV
1 Now faith is the title deed of things hoped for, the proof of things which are not being seen.
Let us consider faith as a title deed to begin discussion of it characteristics. A title is a legitimate or supposed right to demand something as one's rightful due; a claim. A deed is to change the ownership of property by means of a legal document; a transfer. Having faith means that you have the legal right to transfer what is yours from the spiritual side to the physical side.
Many people are sidetracked in their faith because they do not understand that there is a spiritual side to everything material or natural. For example, you are a spirit have a natural experience, we find out how true this is when someone departs their body at death. A propeller on an aircraft can be seen when it is not in motion, but once the engine cranks and begins to roar you can hear the noise but the sight of it disappears. However if you tried to walk into what you could not see, the spinning propeller would give you indications that it still exist. Well faith would tell you that even though you can’t see the propeller it is still there and not to go in that direction because it could harm you.
One thing I learned early in my life is that there are natural and supernatural laws in the earth. Every man possesses the natural side. Only Christians have the supernatural side of the equations. Jesus connects us to the super side of the natural. This connection is made through the word of God. It is God coming into man to do only what God can do through the human race. We are His contact point in the earth. God wants to do the impossible through us if we allow Him too. Remember, when things seem impossible for you to do something, it’s a job for Super (God). He operates in the impossible. Do you have an impossible situation in your life? Allow God to move on your behalf (He will not let you down).
Lack of finances and sickness is a major obstacle in the body of Christ. We have to learn how to put God in the impossible situations and let Him work it all out for us. Although, there have been times in my life and ministry when I did not see how I would pull through a situation, God provided for me. I learned to allow the Super to intercede on my behalf, after all we are in covenant together. Faith is your legal claim on what is yours.
Hope is a characteristic that can strengthen faith. In Scripture, hope is referenced as favorable future state under God’s province. The apostle Paul uses hope in his writings to motivate his readers to remain steadfast in the faith. In both 1 Thessalonians 1:3; 2:19; 4:13; 5:8, 1 Corinthians 13:13, Galatians 5:5-6 hope is used in connection with love and faith. Hope stems from faith and includes the seal that what God began in Christ is transformed through the hearts of men and will conclude on the last day (2 Cor 5:5). The apostle Paul wanted his readers to understand that hope is the bridge that gaps the already of salvation to the not yet of the eternal state. Mankind already has salvation but he is not yet living in his glorified body like Jesus Christ. Hope assures the believer that one day soon he will be like Christ in his completeness, however one must remain faithful (Rom 11:22; 1 Cor 15:2) to the process that was initiated at baptism and one day culminated in their own resurrection.
© 2015 EP Lockley Sr.
(copyright exclude graphics which are the property of original owners)
Saturday, October 18, 2014
Knitting the body of Christ
From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. Eph 4:16
That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ; Col. 2:2,
And not holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God. Col. 2:19
At first thought about the illustration of the body of Christ, a picture of a human body appears. Starting with a neck, upper body, mid section, left and right arm with legs, each symbolically registers as the appropriate animation for the body of Christ. The idea to list sections of the human body appears more useful even though a body is what is visualized.
In Ephesians 4 and Colossians 2, the typology of the human body is used to paint a picture of Christian’s relationship towards each other and toward the Godhead.
Christians or members have individuality and uniqueness in the church but are universally connected. This connection is manifested through a central belief that each one professes. As Christians, faith in Jesus Christ and the Godhead places each in new family of love. Through faith and love, each believer becomes connected to the Godhead. In response, God gives grace (unmerited divine assistance) and Jesus gives gifts (spiritual gifts) to each believer and places them in the church. The church is called the body of Christ. Christ is the head of this body. All believers are a part of Christ’s body. It is in this body that believers and their uniqueness are to function. Like moving parts of the body have joints and move according to the command of the head (brain), it is the coming together of the unique members that form the body of Christ. Those members united in love form joints in which Christ then nourishes and supplies for growth into a holy temple unto God.
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Sunday School Lesson for September 29, 2013 God Scatters the Nations (Genesis 11:1-9)
Lesson for September 29, 2013:
God Scatters the Nations
(Genesis 11:1-9)
By Sam E. Stone
After Noah and his family came out of the ark, they sought to follow God’s directions (Genesis 8, 9). Chapter 10 is sometimes called “The Table of Nations,” listing where the families of Noah’s sons settled after the flood. The chapter concludes, “These are the clans of Noah’s sons, according to their lines of descent, within their nations” (10:32).
The Setting
Genesis 11:1, 2
Noah’s descendants were evidently nomadic people. They moved south and east to the land of Shinar. At some point, they determined to build a city in the region around the area later known as Babylon. Some students believe that Shinar is near where the Garden of Eden was located, since the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers both ran through that region.
E. F. Kevan suggests that when Genesis states the world had one language and a common speech, it means that everyone spoke in the same way both as to pronunciation and vocabulary. Basil Atkinson agrees, pointing out that the Hebrew word translated language means literally lip and that speech means literally words. “Perhaps the former refers to phonetics, the actual sounds and their pronunciation, and the latter to vocabulary.” Various dialects and speech patterns had not kept the people from understanding one another up until this point.
The Scheme
Genesis 11:3, 4
The people determined to build a large tower, one that reaches to the heavens. The original purpose of the structure may have been for defensive security and political domination. The tower may have also had a religious and astrological significance. Some Bible teachers feel that this was a kind of temple tower, common later in the cities of Mesopotamia and known as a zigurrat. Such buildings were used for pagan worship.
James E. Smith explains, “The motives of the tower builders are not entirely clear. . . . They hoped that the tower would provide protection from another Flood or from enemies who might attempt to scatter them. So the tower pointed to man’s attempt to glorify and fortify himself.” C. F. Keil suggests, “The real motive therefore was the desire for renown, and the object was to establish a noted central point, which might serve to maintain their unity.”
The Sovereign God
Genesis 11:5-9
The people were not “putting one over” on God by their plans. The Lord had carefully observed all that they were doing. He knew their hearts as well. If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. The power of sin will continue to grow. Sin rules in a corrupt heart. Wrong desires lead to wrong action (James 1:15). No wonder Proverbs 4:23 teaches, “Above all else, guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life” (NIV 1984). In the case of the tower of Babel, “God moved to deprive them of the ability to comprehend one another, and thus effected their dispersion” (Keil).
E. F. Kevan points out the significance of Babel (Babylon) in Scripture. “Right through to the book of Revelation, Babylon represents the idea of materialistic and humanistic federation in opposition to God.” He adds, “The proud builders of the city had called it Babel (the gate or court of God), but God, taking up their word and derisively giving it another meaning from a similar sounding root, also called it Babel (confusion).”
God said, “Let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.” The “us” is most likely a reference to the Trinity. By confusing their language, the Lord caused the people to leave their construction project and scatter across the face of the earth. This brought the building of the tower to an abrupt halt. The place was called Babel, “confusion,” to commemorate this judicial act of God.
Significantly when the church began in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost many years later, people were there from every nation (Acts 2:5), and all of them could hear the message of salvation in their own language. With the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles, the confusion of Babel was replaced by a single divinely-directed message preached by the apostles (Acts 2:1-11).
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*Lesson based on International Sunday School Lesson, © 2009, by the Lesson Committee. Scripture quotations are from the New International Version ©2011, unless otherwise indicated.
HOME DAILY BIBLE READINGS
September 23: Job 38:1-7
September 24: Job 38:12-18
September 25: Job 38:28-38
September 26: Job 40:6-14
September 27: 2 Chronicles 34:14-21
September 28: 2 Chronicles 34:22-28
September 29: Genesis 11:1-9
Saturday, August 31, 2013
God Creates from Psalms 104
Lesson for September 1, 2013: God Creates
(Psalm 104)
During the next two months we will study highlights from the book of Genesis. Today’s lesson provides a helpful introduction to the creation account (Genesis 1). It leads the reader to praise God for his unimaginable greatness and goodness, shown when he made the world. The psalm has been described as “a poetical commentary upon the first chapter of Genesis.” It ranks with Job 38, 39, Psalm 8, 19, 29, and Habakkuk 3.This beautiful hymn praises God for the wonders of creation. The content parallels the creation account in Genesis 1. Some Bible students see an allusion to God’s work on each successive day in Psalm 104:
- first day (vv. 2-5),
- second (vv. 6-9),
- third (vv. 10-18),
- fourth (vv. 19-23),
- fifth (vv. 24-30).
The psalm begins and ends by acknowledging the power and goodness of the Creator. This is no tribute to “Mother Nature,” but to God who made everything that exists. James E. Smith declares, “No more beautiful ode to creation has ever been written. The writer of this psalm is anonymous, but it is probably David. The psalm pairs beautifully with the previous one. Here the stress is laid on the testimony of creation to the greatness of Yahweh.”
Sovereign Power
Psalm 104:5-9The psalm begins and ends with the challenge, “Praise the Lord, O my soul” (compare Psalm 103). The psalmist says God wraps himself in light. He stretches out the heavens like a tent. When creating the earth, God set it on its foundations. This illustration compares the earth to a solid, secure building (see Job 38:4). God, of course, did not need to use a literal foundation. He is the Master Builder (Genesis 1:2). As easily as a man might put up a tent, so God created the heavens. From them, he gives rain to the earth (Psalm 33:7). The clouds are his chariot, the winds his messengers, the flames of fire his servants. The Lord needed but to say the word and the water took to flight. He is in absolute control of everything that has been made. Even water must respect the boundaries God has set (compare Genesis 9:11-15).
Sustaining Care
Psalm 104:24-30The psalmist moves from God’s creating power to his sustaining power (vv. 10-23). This final portion of today’s printed text calls on everyone to recognize and honor God for what he has done and is doing throughout the world. The psalmist points out that, in wisdom, God made everything that exists. “By wisdom the Lord laid the earth’s foundations, by understanding he set the heavens in place; by his knowledge the deeps were divided, and the clouds let drop the dew” (Proverbs 3:19, 20). Interestingly, all life in the universe—human, animal, bird, or aquatic—is covered both by the Lord’s knowledge and his control. Jesus himself alluded to this fact while on earth (Matthew 10:23).
When speaking of creatures of the sea, the psalmist mentions Leviathan. This creature is mentioned more than once in Scripture (see Job 41; Isaiah 27:1) but is not easily identified. Some Bible scholars believe Leviathan is a crocodile, while others identify it with some type of serpent (see Psalm 74:14). The obvious lesson is to see that this fearsome monster (Job 3:8) is “merely God’s harmless pet playing in the ocean” (John H. Stek).
All of the creatures in the world depend on God for their food (Psalm 104:27). The same God provides every good and perfect gift to mankind as well (James 1:17). He is the source of all blessings for all of his creation. H. C. Leupold writes, “The world over living creatures are continually looking to heaven for food . . . In a measure that surpasses our comprehension God gives them what they need. Luther once remarked that the Lord must have a large kitchen.”
The Lord holds the power of life and death in his hand. He is the all-powerful Creator and Sustainer of life for humans and animals alike. When God recalls the breath of life from a creature, that creature will die. His Spirit is sent forth, however, to replenish the earth with new life. Let all of his creation praise God!
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*Lesson based on International Sunday School Lesson, © 2009, by the Lesson Committee. Scripture quotations are from the New International Version ©2011, unless otherwise indicated.
HOME DAILY BIBLE READINGS
August 26: Matthew 6:25-34
August 27: Psalm 104:1-4
August 28: Psalm 104:10-18
August 29: Psalm 104:19-23
August 30: Psalm 97:1-9
August 31: Psalm 104:31-35
September 1: Psalm 104:5-9, 24-30
Saturday, July 20, 2013
Sunday School Lesson for July 21st Fasting and Praying Ezra 7 - 8:23
Fasting and Praying
Ezra 7:6-10
New International Version (NIV)
8 Ezra arrived in Jerusalem in the fifth month of the seventh year of the king. 9 He had begun his journey from Babylon on the first day of the first month, and he arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month, for the gracious hand of his God was on him. 10 For Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the Lord, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel.
Plans for the Trip
Ezra 7:6-10The second section of the book begins with a listing of Ezra’s credentials. Ruben Ratzlaff notes, “Like many of the genealogies of the Old Testament, it includes only the more significant names. There are frequent omissions.” Ezra was a priest (vv. 7, 11; 10:10), and v. 6 reports that he was also a teacher well versed in the Law of Moses. Some suggest this is the first mention of a scribe in the Bible, a group Ezra may have helped create. He not onlycopied the Law, but also taught it to others.
Artaxerxes, the king of Persia, approved Ezra’s leading the Jews in their return from Babylon to Palestine. Scripture makes clear exactly how it happened that the king had granted him everything he asked. Put simply, “The hand of the Lord his God was on him”(v. 6). James Smith explains, “Ezra was able in some unexplained way to secure an appointment from the king to return to Jerusalem as a religious reformer.” This blessing came from God. Many years later James observed, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights” (James 1:17). No doubt prayer undergirded all of Ezra’s efforts.
Returning with him was a broad mix of Israelites—priests, Levites, musicians, gatekeepers and temple servants. Especially mentioned are those who would be serving God in the new temple there. The dating of this trip is clearly indicated. In 458 BC Ezra and his entourage arrived back in Jerusalem. It had been almost 80 years since the first return, and 147 years since Daniel and his friends were taken to Babylon. Their travel time to get back home was four months.
Ezra 6:10 is a popular verse with preachers. It suggests a worthy goal for all God’s children, under three headings. Ezra was determined to do three things—study the Law of God, practice the Law, and teach the Law to others.
Ezra 8:21-23
New International Version (NIV)
21 There, by the Ahava Canal, I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions. 22 I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to protect us from enemies on the road, because we had told the king, “The gracious hand of our God is on everyone who looks to him, but his great anger is against all who forsake him.” 23 So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer.
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Preparation for the Trip
Ezra 8:21-23Before leaving with his fellow travelers, Ezra called them together for a special time of prayer and fasting. The Day of Atonement was the one fast required of the people each year (see Leviticus 23:32). The people could add other voluntary fasts, however. C. F. Keil explains, “Fasting, as a means of humbling themselves before God, for the purpose of obtaining an answer to their petitions, was an ancient custom of the Israelites (Judges 20:26; 1 Samuel 7:6; Joel 1:14; 2 Chronicles 20:3).”
Leslie G. Thomas points out, “Jesus warns that one may soil this fine act of physical restraint by using it for the purpose of spiritual show.” Proper fasting is not done to show off for others, but is essentially between a believer and God (see Matthew 6:16-18). We are not to call attention to ourselves when we fast. One writer observed, “A lowly spirit doesn’t necessarily mean a long face!” In the first-century church, people fasted when elders were appointed (Acts 14:23) and before sending out Paul and Barnabas as missionaries (Acts 13:1-3).
Ezra opens his heart when he admits that he didn’t want to ask the king for military protection for them on the trip, since Ezra had assured the king that God was with them! This section closes with this powerful summation: “So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer.” When we fast and pray, God will still do so today!
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*Lesson based on International Sunday School Lesson, © 2009, by the Lesson Committee. Scripture quotations are from the New International Version ©2011, unless otherwise indicated.
| HOME DAILY BIBLE READINGS |
| July 15: 2 Chronicles 7:12-18 |
| July 16: Psalm 69:9-18 |
| July 17: Isaiah 66:1-4 |
| July 18: Matthew 6:16-18 |
| July 19: Ezra 7:1-10 |
| July 20: Ezra 8:15-20 |
| July 21: Ezra 8:21-23 |
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