the Beautiful Letdown - Part 4

Recap:
In Part 3 we looked at the New Heavens and the the New earth being symbolic of the New Covenant.
This happened when Jesus was crucified and resurrected. His death also ended the Law.

In Rev 21 John records God saying, "Now is the dwelling place of God with Man,...I am making all things NEW"
Jesus said also in john, " My Fathers house has many rooms..."
Meaning that Gods dwelling place is IN us - all His People.
"the mystery of the Gospel has been hidden for ages and Generations but has now been made clear, that is: Christ IN YOU, the hope of Glory" Col 1.

God announcing in Rev 21 regarding Him now being with Man is a Declaration of the New Covenant and that the Old Order of things had passed away and now ALL things are made New.
Paul says the same thing in 2 Cor 5: " The OLD has gone, Behold, ALL THINGS ARE MADE NEW"
The Writer of Hebrews also quotes writing regarding the NEW COVENANT from the Old Testament in HEB 13: "I will never leave you nor Forsake you.."

Again, the implication of all this is that GOD IS WITH US NOW!
However, If we still have a future tense view of the Book of Revelation, this would make no sense as God only says, "Now is the dwelling of God with man" at the end of Revelation. This Implies that HE is NOT currently with us. - This is NOT GOOD NEWS!

In This Part we will look at:

•  Being BORN Again
• the significance of the Golden City being called the "NEW Jerusalem"

Lets have a look at this:

Col 1:15  Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: 

Col 1:16  For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: 

Col 1:17  And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. 

Col 1:18  And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. 

Col 1:19  For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell; (Also remember Jesus' words that when he was lifted up, he would "drag" ALL MEN to himself)

Col 1:20  And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. 

Did you catch that?:  For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell;
Q: If all fullness dwelled in him, What would happen if He died?
A: All things would Die too, right?


That's exactly how Paul puts in in Corinthians: 2Co 5:14  For the love of Christ compels us, having concluded this: that if One died for all, then all died; 

When He Died, All things died too - the Old earth and Old Heaven, The Law and the OLD covenant, ALL of mankind...

BUT, when he Rose again, so too was Everything made NEW again.

When HE Died, ALL OF CREATION symbolically died with Him. When HE Rose again ALL OF CREATION was BORN AGAIN!!

In John 3 when Jesus tells Nicodemus that he cannot enter the kingdom unless he is "BORN AGAIN".

Nowhere in scripture is anyone told how to get "born again". 

Jesus did not tell Nicodemus how to do this because it was not something Nicodemus had to do. It was something that Jesus would do through His Death and Resurrection.

Think about it: What hand did you play in your natural Birth? 

Did you have to make a choice in order to get Born the first time around?

Of course not! It had nothing to do with you. 

In the same way the Death of your Old Adamic nature and your Being co-crucified, co-burred and co-raised with Jesus at the Ressurection unto Newness of Life had absolutely NOTHING to do with you! But Everything to do with Him! (your believing the Gospel didnt create or change the fact that you were Crucified WITH Christ back when Christ was Crucified. rather, your belief in the Good News merely allowed you to actively participate in your New Life now, in this age.) 

That's why HE is called the author of Salvation and the Savior of the WORLD. This is NOT of yourself lest any man boast!

We have already shown that the the Dwelling Place of God is us. He lives in us. We are His Dwelling Place.

John records that the Dwelling Place of God (in Revelation 21) is now called the NEW Jerusalem. Why?

What Happened at the Cross that caused God to call his dwelling place "NEW"?

In the Old Testament when God was addressing His people he would say, for example:

Isaiha 52:1  Awake! Awake! Put on your strength, Zion; put on your beautiful robes, O Jerusalem, the holy city. For never again shall uncircumcised and unclean ones come to you. 

God is not talking to a literal City ie: the streets and buildings... He is speaking symbolically to the People of that City.

The NEW Jerusalem in Revelation 21 is a reference to ALL of Man, not just the Jews.

In the OLD Testament the Jews only were known as "Gods people". But that Old order of things has become obsolete. On the Cross Jesus made ALL THINGS NEW and he has Reconciled "ALL THINGS" to Himself.

Romans 11 explains that through the Cross the Gentiles are now also apart of Gods Kingdom/Covenant.

The Good News announcement right from the beginning by the Angels, on the night of Jesus' birth was one of Peace and Joy to ALL MEN.

So in Revelation 21 John sees this unfolding as he sees the accomplishments of the Cross unfolding and after he sees the OLD heaven and earth pass away,  he hears the announcement of "ALL THINGS have been made NEW".  He then gets shown the Bride of the Lamb - The NEW JERUSALEM. The Bride and the Groom are now in UNION. They are ONE. there is no longer any separation between God and the object of His affection - US (Mankind, not just believers)
Paul also talks about this in Ephesians 5 when he uses that analogy of a husband and a wife being joined together in marriage and the two become ONE.

In this part we have looked at 

• We were all BORN AGAIN when Christ made ALL THINGS NEW at his Resurrection.
• We have seen that the NEW Jerusalem is ALL OF MANKIND and not a Litteral City and not just made up of the Jews. It is the dwelling place of God. He lives in us... NOW.

In the next Part we will look at how the dreaded "Lake of Fire" in Revelations 20 factors into THE FINISHED WORK and is NOT a future tense event. It Really is Finished!

Click here for Part 5  

  

First love

Rev 2:2-4 I know your works, and your labor, and your patience, and that you cannot bear evil ones; and you tried those pretending to be apostles and are not, and found them to be liars.
And you bore up and have patience and on account of My name you have labored and have not wearied.
But I have against you that you left your first love.

Here we see Jesus speaking to the Ephesian Church, and at the end of vs4 He tells them that they have left their first love.

So often this phrase is used with an incorrect understanding of what Jesus was actually saying.
Preachers and teachers (including myself!) have used this passage in the past to urge people to get back to loving God, to not become distracted with other things - even good things.
But was this what Jesus was telling them here?

Had they drifted away from their love for God?
Well, not according to the text. In fact, Jesus actually commends them for making a stand for what they truly believed. He commends them for patiently laboring in the truth of the Gospel and proving wrong those false apostles who would try lead any astray. They have endured persecution and held up under it because of Jesus' Name!
Friends, we must believe that these are people who love God.

Nobody in their right mind would endure persecution and ridicule for something they didn't believe in - surely?
So, we can see very clearly that it was not their love for God that they were lacking in. They had not left "their love for God", but they had left their "first love".


We can see in the next verse, just how important it is to God, they we stay in our first love.
He says:

Rev 2:5 Then remember from where you have fallen, and repent (change your thinking to something better), and do the first works (which were fueled by your first love). And if not, I am coming to you quickly, and will remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent (simply change your mind to something better).
brackets mine.

God was willing to remove His attractive manifest presence - that which attracts the lost - so that no new people would be drawn in and added to their number, to a congregation that was operating void of their first love.
Clearly, many were being drawn to be a part of this congregation because they were doing wonderful things because of their love for God - but this is not Gods way to draw all men to himself.....



lets look at another text:
1Jn 4:19 We love because he first loved us.

Friends, our first love is NOT our love for God. Our first love is Gods love for us!!
Even while we were still sinners, Christ died for us BECAUSE God loved us so much -that He sent His only begotten son to save us.
Gods way to draw all men to himself was not that they would see mans love for God, but that they would see His love for man. Thats why the Cross is the greatest display of love that the universe has ever seen. It reveals to a lost world, the manifest Goodness of God that ultimately draws us to repentance and believe the Good News.




"But Andrew, if we can only love once we know that God loved us (the first Love), well.... isn't that what was happening in Revelation 2, with the Ephesus Church?
How could they have been showing love for God without knowing His love for them?"


There are many unsaved people who do many good and wonderful things but know not the Love of God for them. In fact, the entire Old Covenant was based on this exact principle according to Jesus: (the principle of loving God to please him)

Mat 22:35 and one of them, a teacher of the Law, tried to trap him with a question.
Mat 22:36 "Teacher," he asked, "which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"
Mat 22:37 Jesus answered, " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.'
Mat 22:38 This is the greatest and the most important commandment.
Mat 22:39 The second most important commandment is like it: 'Love your neighbor as you love yourself.'
Mat 22:40 The whole Law of Moses and the teachings of the prophets depend on these two commandments."
(This, Jesus quoted from Deut 6:5 - straight out of the LAW.)


Many New Covenant Believers have been convinced that they have to prove their love to God, or somehow feel obligated to serve Him. Friends, IF SALVATION CAME WITH AN ATTACHED OBLIGATION OF SERVICE, THEN IT IS NO LONGER A FREE GIFT!! - and scripture is lying by calling it that!

This principle that the Ephesians Church (and thousands of congregations today) was operating in, was ended with the New and Living way. They were "working" at serving Him as an end in itself instead of works being the fruit of feasting on His love.
Jesus on the cross, ended that "weak and miserable" way of relating to God (zeal without knowledge), by revealing Gods love for us.
To leave your First Love as a New Covenant believer is to stray from the FUELING revelation of Gods unconditional Love for you and move back under the Old Covenant way of service. (obedience without relationship).



Nowhere does God command us to love in the NEW COVENANT, but rather, He reveals that when we walk in a revelation of His love for us revealed through Jesus on the cross, that we will automatically love, as He has loved us.


"Andrew, what about:
Joh 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you,....
...Jesus here is commanding us to love each other??!!"

Well, the word translated "THAT" (hina) in the sentence is incorrect.
The correct translation is "SO THAT".....
It should read:
"A new commandment I give unto you, so that you love one another; even as I have loved you,....

So the command is not that we ought to love, but rather, He has given us a command or instruction that will enable us to love... something that we must work at obeying all the time...

"Joh 6:28 Then they said to him, "What must we do, to be doing the works of God?"
Joh 6:29 Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent."


The more we drink down the revelation of our First Love (His Love for us), the brighter the light of His Glory will shine out of us, and the knowledge of His Glory be made know across the planet.



May the Love of God already in your heart explode in a Glorious Gospel revelation of His extreme Love for you personally!!

Andrew

God Remembers Your Sins No More

Most of the Body of Christ believe that God is powerfull and can do the things He says. But how often we doubt this truth when it applies directly to our own sin and short falls. About our sins God said, "I will remember them NO MORE".
And then, when we begin to walk in the understanding of the NEW COVENANT that God himself has made an oath to not count our sins against us or be angry with us (Isa 54:9-10), he (the devil) condemns us for not being condemned!!
But when we realise that we have been given the "Gift of NO CONDEMNATION", we get to use the efforts of the devil to condemn us, as a reminder and turn it around and remind him that he is already condemned.


Hebrews 10:17
17… “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”

"I don’t know about you, but I would say that Hebrews 10:17 is good news. God sees all our sins — past, present and future — and says, “Your sins I remember no more!” The words “no more” are a strong double negative in the original Greek text. In other words, God is saying, “Your sins I will by no means ever remember!”


Has God lowered His standards? No, He is still perfectly holy. He did remember all our sins — 2,000 years ago at the cross. Every sin which we have committed or will commit has been punished to the full in the body of Jesus Christ at the cross. That is why today, God remembers our sins no more. We should, therefore, not be sin-conscious.

Each time we fall into sin, God wants us to remember the cross and say, “Lord Jesus, you were sentenced for this sin I committed. You bore the judgment, so God will not judge me for this sin. You were condemned for this sin, so God will not condemn me for it.”

If you don’t look to the cross, you will become sin-conscious and you will walk around with a certain expectation of judgment. And that expectation of judgment will give the devil a chance to get you thinking that God has something against you because of your sin.

You must come to the place where you know and believe that all your sins are forgiven, that there is no sin that will ever disqualify you from God’s blessings, that there is no sin that will ever send you to hell, because you are forgiven and saved eternally.

Hebrews 10:12, 14 says, “But this Man [Jesus], after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God… For by one offering He has perfected forever those that are sanctified…”

You and I are perfected forever because of Jesus’ perfect work on the cross. We are perfected by God’s full acceptance and perfect delight in His Son’s work that has so glorified His holiness. Beloved, hear God say to you, “I will be merciful. Your sins and lawless deeds I will remember no more.”

But Andrew, Gods word that MUST be fulfilled also says in Rom 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death,"
God is Righteous and His word MUST be accomplished.... right?
So the penalty for sin - even just one, is death and it MUST be Punished!!

Well, In absolute Righteous fulfillment of Gods word, Jesus died for all of our sin. Jesus takes our place in this fulfilment 2000 years ago.
Thats why the next half of that verse that is often left out of the quotation by people who preach "the wrath of God" to get people saved says:
"but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Praise God for His amazing Love. He came NOT to condemn, but to Save.


God Blessed You!!
Andrew

Songs of Confusion

In our journey away from dead religion into the revelation of Gods Goodness
revealed in the Gospel, some things have become alot clearer about what was
really accomplished at the cross.

Many songs that are sung out in praise around the planet actually deny what
Jesus accomplished on the Cross and at Pentecost on our behalf, and are instead confusing songs that do not lead its singers into New Testament freedom - even though many sound nice and humble to sing! Many of those "humble" songs and are rooted in Old Covenant thinking.

One of the AWESOME truths of the New covenant is that HE will NEVER LEAVE OR FORSAKE US!! So to sing a song asking, "here I am waiting, abide in me I pray" and "come live in me" is either saying that you are not yet saved, or to deny the gospel if you are, because he has been living in you from the second you believed the Good News!

To not sing certain songs is not to be a nit-picker or a stick-in-the-mud, but its to line up with the New Testament and to bring honour to Jesus and to ACKNOWLEDGE that we believe what He did is true.
The vail IS already torn, there is no more separation between heaven and
earth that we need to still beg God to remove.

"As we lift up our hands, will you meet us here?" - He certainly will, but even if we didn't lift up our hands he will still because if you are a Christian He lives in you and meets with you even "while you sleep." (Ps139) In fact, "what can separate us from his love- nothing in all creation!" -(certainly not, not lifting up our hands!) "Where could I flee from your presence... wherever I go, you are there with me"- David, speaking of this Glorious New covenant"

The point is that when we beg God to do what he has already done, we certainly are breeding confusion in the singers hearts (subconsciously or consciously, because these types of songs are contrary to the New Covenant.)
The Gospel is freedom, we don't have to beg or urge God by our humble actions, we need to simply believe the "almost to good to be true news" (Gospel).

"We have been given every spiritual blessing IN Christ Jesus"- Eph 1.
Why would we now sing.. "We don't want blessings we want you.” That's not humility, that's actually pride! Its saying that we can get by in our own efforts, denying all that Jesus died to give us - Gods children!

And, we must see that this is not "semantics" as some might say.... because if its just a matter of "being fussy" over words or phrases that make no difference anyway (as some might say), then (if it makes no difference) lets rather use the language of the New Testament and not the Old.
In the Old Testament they didn't have the Holy Spirit permanently with them
and there certainly needed to be a humble consecration process (or sanctification- setting apart/making holy) before meeting with God, but in the New Covenant we are the very Righteousness of God if you are IN Christ (saved), you are already perfectly sanctified/holy by virtue of the indwelling Holy spirit.... Co heir... Adopted sons/daughters.
To sing songs primarily based on the Old Testament lack of Gods presence is
not honouring to God, its simply not worship.

The primary revelation that Jesus brought us of God - which is foreign to the Old Testament- is that of God as our Father. Any father who's children need to be "desperate for him" and "hungry for him" and grovel before him, before he will give them attention and be with them has missed the mark! And we "being evil" fathers even know this.
Yet we sometimes sing songs that imply that our Perfect Father in heaven misses that mark, to the point of us being as "thirsty as a dear is for water, that's how thirsty we are for God" - implying that He hasn't been around much to quench our thirst! Or "my soul thirsts for you"- Ps 63- That's because the Holy Spirit who is the ever flowing river of life had not yet come to reside in us. That’s Old Testament.... a fading covenant.
Jesus said "All who drink of me will never thirst again" - That's New Testament..... an everlasting covenant.

In saying all this, I know that the authors of these songs are sincere and probably love God, but WE must be true to and steward well the truth that we up to now understand.

"The Gospel (almost-to-good-to be-true-good-news-that-God-is-now-with-us-because-He-is-not-counting-the-sins-of-man-against-him-any-more!) is the power of God unto "Forgiveness of sins, healing, deliverance and wholeness" for All who BELIEVE." -Rom 1:16.
Therefore.... the problem with singing songs that are Not New Testament (gospel), is that they confuse the Good news of 'free mercy' with the Bad news of 'performance to avoid lack', which cant lead to the full measure of power available to each believer through the "Good News", because its not the Gospel. In other words, proclaiming/singing a mixed and confused "gospel" will lead to mixed and confused results (power) in those believers lives.

The essence of worship is from an overflow of the revelation of who God is and what He has done, not who we are and what we will do to convince God to be good to us..... It’s too late for that!!

God blessed you