Hell -part1

The following is written by Andre Rabe regarding  the traditional myth we have come to understand as "Hell".


I enjoy what Karl Barth had to say about it:“Should the teaching about hell be a part of the proclamation of the gospel? No, no, no! The proclamation of the gospel means, rather, the proclamation that Christ has defeated hell, that Christ suffered hell in our place, and that it has allowed for us to live with Christ and so to have hell behind us”- Karl Barth (Gesamtausgabe, 25:111)Amazing that Paul, who writes almost 2/3 of the new testament, does not devote one chapter to the subject … not even one paragraph! In fact he mentions hell only once: “O Death, where is your sting? O Hell, where is your victory?” (1 Cor 15:55)

We don’t even have to theorize about the future, we can simply involve ourselves in the lives of people around us and know for certain there is a hell, a place of torment and suffering. However, I also know that whatever torment people are suffering is not a torment placed on them by God. He is consistent. He demonstrated in Christ that He would rather go to hell Himself than abandon us to it. So whatever hell people experience is a hell of there own making and it is as real as it is unnecessary.

So many think of heaven and hell as ‘somewhere else’ and ‘some other time’, namely, the hereafter. But there is a heaven and there is a hell that starts right here and right now.

When Jesus taught on prayer, He did not say: “Father, help us escape from this world and go to heaven where your will is done”. No! He said: “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” Mt 6:10

He had a vision of heaven coming to earth. The gospel is first of all not a message of how to enter heaven, but of how God emptied heaven to enter man!

The story of the lost son and his older brother is such a vivid picture of what heaven and hell is in the here and now. You can read the story in Luke 15 to get the context, I’ll get straight to the point.

The younger son wastes his inheritance and faces great hardship in a foreign land. He eventually comes to himself and realises that even the slaves in his father’s house has a better life than he does.

He starts imagining what to tell his father. During the the long journey home, he recites this story to himself. We pick up the story in verse 19: “I’ll say to him, Father, I’ve sinned against God, I’ve sinned before you; I don’t deserve to be called your son. Take me on as a hired hand.’ He got right up and went home to his father.

“When he was still a long way off, his father saw him. His heart pounding, he ran out, embraced him, and kissed him. The son started his speech: ‘Father, I’ve sinned against God, I’ve sinned before you; I don’t deserve to be called your son ever again.’

“But the father wasn’t listening. He was calling to the servants, ‘Quick. Bring a clean set of clothes and dress him. Put the family ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Then get a grain-fed heifer and roast it. We’re going to feast! We’re going to have a wonderful time!”

The father had a different point of view, a different speech, a different story that included restoration and a party!

Heaven begins for the younger son when he abandons his own point of view, his well recited speech, and simply flings himself into the arms of his father, accepting his point of view, his story. Heaven begins when we let go of every excuse we can think of, not to enjoy the father’s embrace. Heaven begins when we let go of the guilt and go with the flow of a party that we did not deserve, but nevertheless is the desire of our father.

Just let Him kiss you! Just let Him embrace you, and enjoy the party!

Let’s pick up the older brother’s story from verse 25: “All this time his older son was out in the field. When the day’s work was done he came in. As he approached the house, he heard the music and dancing. Calling over one of the houseboys, he asked what was going on. He told him, ‘Your brother came home. Your father has ordered a feast—barbecued beef!—because he has him home safe and sound.’

“The older brother stalked off in an angry sulk and refused to join in. His father came out and tried to talk to him, but he wouldn’t listen. The son said, ‘Look how many years I’ve stayed here serving you, never giving you one moment of grief, but have you ever thrown a party for me and my friends? Then this son of yours who has thrown away your money on whores shows up and you go all out with a feast!’

“His father said, ‘Son, you don’t understand. You’re with me all the time, and everything that is mine is yours—but this is a wonderful time, and we had to celebrate. This brother of yours was dead, and he’s alive! He was lost, and he’s found!’”

The older brother also has a point of view, a perspective in which he saw himself as a diligent and hard working man, and deserving of much more than his younger brother. He does not see his father as generous towards him, or even as a fair man!

As with the younger son, the father tries to persuade him of a different perspective, a different view of himself and their relationship.

Hell is being with the father, yet not knowing him.

Hell is being at the party, but not joining in, sulking because of the father’s generosity towards the less deserving. It would have been less of a hell if it was somewhere else – the music, the smells, the joy in the air is what makes the older brother’s attitude so hellish!

Hell is possessing everything the father owns, but still slaving away, trying to gain what you think you don’t have.

Hell begins when you cling to your own opinion, your own point of view, when you refuse the father’s version of your story.

It seems that the more focused we are on a heaven and a hell that is somewhere else and some other time, the less involved we are in bringing heaven to earth, here and now."

Please also see Part 2 for some further things to consider.
Paul's words of exhortation about the Berians being very Noble because they actually made an effort to check up what he was saying to them rings true still today.
Many a time we keep" flogging our dead horse traditional theology" because we are afraid to step out of line from what others around us believe. We find our acceptance in others opinions of us instead of what our Dad thinks of us.
I sincerely encourage you to be "man-enough" to at least take the time and effort to look at the facts regarding our traditional "eternal hell" myth.  -Andrew 

Carry your Cross!!!

Religion continuously commands those it lords itself over to "die" on a daily basis.... to "carry their cross"...


Friends, Jesus said that he came that we would have LIFE (not death)(John 10:10). 
Scripture declares that we were crucified with Christ . It is NO LONGER "YOURSELF" that lives but Christ. (Gal 2)
It tells us plainly that "Christ already died ONCE FOR ALL" (Heb 10), and that we should in fact "CONSIDER OURSELVES DEAD"(Col 3).
Dont get tricked into trying to earn favour with God by beating yourself up.... You are His Image and likeness.... Religion wants you to think that you are UNWORTHY and therefore make you deny your personal Identity!! You already have His favour and nothing can change that!- You cant get any closer to God by fasting, praying longer, reading your Bible more, tithing or giving all your money away, praying for more sick people, attending more meetings or anything else that Religion has vomited out as "truth".
CHRIST IS IN YOU ALREADY!!!! - "This is the mystery of the Gospel that has been hidden for ages and generations but is NOW being revealed (uncovered). The Mystery is Christ IN YOU, the Hope of Glory." (Col 1:27) 




People - Loved by God, come out from under Religion that wants to keep this mystery tightly concealed. "It is for freedom that you have been set free."(Gal 5)
You do not need permission to Live, the death He died He died for ALL that all may LIVE in His LIFE!! Come out from the binds of man-made doctrines of bondage! Just do it - I dare you - LOL!! :)


Col 2:20  You died with Christ. Now the forces of the universe don't have any power over you. Why do you live as if you had to obey such rules as, 
Col 2:21  "Don't handle this. Don't taste that. Don't touch this."? 
Col 2:22  After these things are used, they are no longer good for anything. So why be bothered with the rules that humans have made up? 
Col 2:23  Obeying these rules may seem to be the smart thing to do. They appear to make you love God more and to be very humble and to have control over your body. But they don't really have any power over our desires. 
Col 3:1 Pursue with diligence the consequence of your co-inclusion in Christ. Relocate yourself mentally! His resurrection co-raised you to the same position of authority, seated in the strength of God’s right hand. 
Col 3:2 Becoming affectionately acquainted with Throne Room thoughts will keep you from being distracted again by the earthly (soul-ruled) realm.
Col3:3 Your union with His death broke the association with that world; the secret of your life now is the fact that you are wrapped up with Christ in God.


Stop trying to "Die Daily" (You already died!!!!!!!) and just live, because when you do that, you best display His Light to the world - effortlessly.


Religion wants you to go to the Grave daily - Jesus wants to put you on a hill for your light to shine as a display of His splendour for the world to see.


Religion will hate you for believing the proper Gospel but you will find strength in His Joy!!






Side note: Jesus: "Mat 10:38  And unless you are willing to take up your cross and come with me, you are not fit to be my disciples."
The problem is that Religion has made many people UNWILLING  to associate themselves with His death and their co-crucifixion with Him. They deny this fact and therefore are not disciples of Jesus, but disciples of men without even knowing it. the Apostle Paul shares plainly that "because one died for ALL, therefore ALL have died", He also said (incase some were confused about the means of that death) that His Old Self WAS CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST. - There is NO MORE Old Self that needs to Die Daily.

Side note: Out of Matthew, Mark and Luke, Luke is the only one who adds in a word which has been translated into English as "Daily" This Greek word also means a particular day or space of time. ie: The Day He was Crucified.
We must be willing to associate with HIS DEATH/HIS CRUCIFIXION on the day He was crucified. This makes us fit to be a follower of Him.


Side Note: The ONE time that Paul mentions that he "dies daily" is in the context of facing death every day - AND MANY TRANSLATIONS EVEN TRANSLATE IT AS "Face death every day" instead of the figurative phrase "Die Daily".
Also, the CONTEXT: Paul is specifically talking about what he is physically going through regarding persecution for sharing the Good News of our co-inclusion in Christ's DEATH and in His LIFE (Resurrection)
1 Cor 15:31 My friends, I face death every day! The pride I have in you, in our life in union with Christ Jesus our Lord, makes me declare this. 


His death declares your Innocence and is proof of your Life that it yours to freely live. Its time to strip of the stinking grave clothes that RELIGION has made fashionable. All that's left to do is LIVE.






Love.

Religion or Relationship?

"Most of Paul’s letters were written because even the earliest believers found themselves trading relationship for religion. Instead of learning to live in the security of his love they would go back to the traditions, creeds, disciplines and laws as an attempt to earn it themselves. He reminded them over and over again, that God’s love would take them further than their own efforts and achievements ever would. But his words often fell on deaf ears then, as they have in generations since....

...Religion offers us the illusion of earning acceptance, but it is only a cheap substitute for the reality of life in him. God’s desire is to engage us in a life-changing relationship. He knew the ‘life-changing’ would come only out of the relationship. Thus he demonstrated his love for us before we did anything to make ourselves worthy of it. By doing so, he wanted us to stop trying to earn it and just live in light of it." Exerpt from "He loves me"

Sometimes we get consumed and obsessed with making the cogs of our religion grind on, regardless of any cost or lives at stake. How often in days gone by have well meaning brothers and sisters sacrificed time with, and needs of: spouses, children, friends or anything or anyone else that would cross the tracks of the religious machine they were obsessed with maintaining....Often completely ignorant of the decaying reality of those closest to them.

Often what started off as a voluntary act of Love, in serving people in a local community, gets transposed onto the individual as their identity from the rest of the congreagtion. The praise and acceptance of those being served quickly takes the 1st place from the Love of God that led them to serve in the first place. Soon enough, because thier actions are not primarily fueled by God's Love, but rather the need to keep people happy (and the value they gain from man fro their service), they find themselves traped and tied into a religious system that 'must keep' grinding on, no matter how many get chwed up and spat out along the way. When one burns out, they are quickly and efficiently replaced - given the praises as the next best thing, and the deathly cycle begings all over again.

How many have felt guilty for "missing a church meeting" because they had a "role to play" to ensure the show went on? How many have felt terrible for "taking a gap" or a family weekend away because they knew that their "church" relied on them?... (perhaps more than their own family!?) How many will "no qusetions asked" prioritize the religious needs of a local church over their own family? How many cant say "No" to church leaders because of a fear of being rejected by them, or have that leaders opinion of them "tainted" with regard to commitment? - But will say "No" to their family events or needs at the drop of a hat to keep local church leaders happy.

All of this comitment may seem noble from the outside, and may even earn one an esteemed place of leadership and honour, but at what cost?....burnt out marraige relationships?.... Children growing up hating "the church" or "God" for messing up thier families. Are we serving Jesus by bowing and scraping to Religious Machine that only recipicates affection and benefits to those from whom it can benefit from?
I'm all for serving our local church communities! But Jesus must be the One who leads us to do so, and when that time is up, and He leads us to give His attention elsewhere, there must be the freedom to do so - even if there is not a replacement for your vacancy!! We CAN TRUST Jesus to build His Church. This happens when we do what He leads us to do - weather its starting something or ending something. Jesus leads us as He sees fit - we can TRUST that!
Religion loves to delay what Jesus has led you to do because your obedience to it damages Satans kingdom. Satan often uses well intentioned brother and sisters to encourage Delaying the thing that Jesus has laid on your heart to do.

If you are stuck in a religious machine with seemingly no way out without the threat of "all the wheels falling off", the best advise I can give you is: Just do what Jesus leads you to do. He is big enough to deal with the "fall-out" and loves every step of journying with you as you grow and learn to trust him, instead of trying to make our own plans.
You - despite others opinions - are not responsible to keep the Religios Cogs turning if you feel your time it up, in serving where you are serving. Jesus will build His Church. Lets Trust Him! Jesus has given us Himself and delights in our undivided affection and has wooed us through His love act on the Cross....

YOU, are far more important to Him than - your kids ministry commitment, your church band dedication, your polished theology, your evangelism programs, your FB and internet blogs, your daily self crucifiction, your "church covering", your prayer meeting or home group attendance, or anything else we sometimes deem as the be-all and end-all of what being a son or daughter is all about. He loves you and wants you to Trust Him to lead you into greater Freedom.


Love to you all!!
Andrew

Decisions, Decisions

In everybodies lives there is always a choice which of these three roads we get to walk down. The first one is the road of Rebellion. Here its all about ourselves. We learn to ignore the leading of Jesus in our lives and are "satisfied" that we are in controll. We move ourselves far out of the reach of manipulating voices and relationships and supress a natural longing to have the very thing we have closed all the doors to..... and that is, to live in Rest from having to gain the approval of everybody else around us that we seek to impress. We stive for individuality and uniqness on this road, but only find that we match up to the millions of others traveling his same road. Just like sheep (albeit the proverbial "black sheep"), all responding exactly the same to the attempts of Love to capture our hearts. We kick away in fear because of a twisted perception of "true Love", and rush back to "the known" which is a place far from freedom, far from the exillerating embrace of God, far from the Joy He has for us to experience. The years may fly by and our world created out of fear only gets darker and more desparate - although we fight hard to never let it show. Never realizing that freedom from our prison cells has been closer than the air we breath all along. From the moment we chose never to trust or alow ourselves to be loved He has been with us.... never left us, never forsaken us.

The second road we may choose to travel down is the inviting road called Religion. This Road promises us security, fulfilment, and everything we ever dreamed of. It dresses up as "the answer to all of our problems". Only a short way down this highway we discover that much of what we had first hoped for seems a little off. There now seems to be a couple of conditions to be met. Slowly/Quickly, but certainly surely our Joy that we first encountered when meeting Jesus, and the promise in our hearts that we can live like this daily begin to crumble away to nothing. Our hopes of living in the freedom of the Cross and the Joy of our initial Salvation slowly get pushed to beyond the realms of death and we now get "set-in" for a life long struggle shrouded in relational superficiality and political pretenses. "Oh the Joy of the Cross!!" we pretend to portray when we are along-side fellow travellers on this the Relligious Road, but all the while not really getting it. Something just seems to be missing along this Road but we convince ourselves that it must be us, and we need to "press into God" a little more. Perhaps one day we will really find Him on this Road we think to ourselves. We attend all the promised "life changing" and "impartation" conferences that our money can buy, but still we hope for a "deeper touch" of God.... "perhaps next year, or when the next guy comes through town God will really meet with me" we think to our selves, all the while wondering what more we need to do, what more we need to learn, how much more we need to pray.... to get an encounter out of Him.
On this road, in order to "succeed" we have to invent and live in an identity that is different from the real "us" in order to speed ahead of other religionists. We have to live with a Hidious mask on 24/7 - shiney on the outside, cold and dead on the inside. "Keeping up apearances" is the call of the day. One slip-up (made public that is!) could spell the end for any ladder climbers. A false reality created by this Religious Road system numbs us to the freedom we lived in - even before we came to Christ!! This thought shocks us and we silence it by convincing ourselves that its all worth it - after all, didnt Jesus say we would suffer for him? We make up excuses when people mock our "lemon faced" Religion but all the while we wish it wasnt the truth. We have closed-door meetings as "leadership teams" to try to come up with stratergies to inject more "real life" into our religion, all the while perpetuating the problem.
On this road, Love is secondary to making sure that the system grinds on. At all costs, the system must grind on. After all, we convince ourselves, what would we do without church as we know it? This "church" system is were we gain our identity from, where we get our approval from. So rather we choose to put up with all the hurt of pretence, hidden agendas, cloak and dager manipulation stratergies, obligatory attendance, obligatory payments, the submission to others against the peace of Jesus inside us, all the covering up that happens so knowbody can find out who you Really are and what you really think, all this sure seems safer than leaving this road called Religion. Yet the "church" that is created here is not what Jesus had in mind for you. He loves you deeply and will CERTAINLY work things for your good with in it. Because That's who is.

There is a third road we could travel down called the road of Relationship. On this road, there is no need for a religious system to prop us. Here, its virtually imposible to gain our identity from the things we DO, but rather from Who we are in and Who is in us. There is no pressure to get things right to be approved of because here, you are already approved of. On this road, growing with Jesus through day to day life is what its about. Here, we get to be 100% real 24/7 - each individual walking this road is as uniquely different from his fellow travellers as his fingerprints are from their's. We have no need to copy the "next best thing". There are no "ideal" moulds to conform to, no hidden agendas and reasons for our relationship with Him. Its all because he LOVES us. Everyday on this road is a growing love relationship. He is perfectly patient towards our failings and distractions, He is not "raising you up" to "use you". He knows that you have been used enough on the Religious Road and His Love has no price tag attached to it. He is not interested in profiting from your skills, gifts or tallents but loves you for you. These things He placed inside you, He knows, will come out in your unique God given way as you blossom in His love.
On this road there are no Dead lines, Obligations to fullfill, plates to spin or people to satisfy, just a growing Love relationship. On this road you will discover who He made you to be and those around you in your everyday life will see Jesus' colour and flavor.
On this Road of Relationship it becomes (the more we detox from religion) about Love. We find that we become friends with people that our Religious system could never allow. We become friends with "sinners and tax collectors" on this road with NO hidden agenda to recruit them into a religious boot camp, but just because you are aware that Christ in you wants to release worth to them, love to them.... Himself to them. It's not to a bunch of rules ond principles we have the priveledge of introducing them to, but to Jesus, our lover and theirs.

"What would we ever do without our Religious systems that we have so painstakingly constructed and become reliant on?"
Perhaps we would turn the world up-side-down with a Love so deep and so amazing that we would never look back!



May Our Religious systems become a laughable memory in the light of His Glory and Grace.

LOVE.

Feasting on the Evidence

Hi guys, i have not written for a while because I simply have not been able to express what Ive been feeling in my heart, and I have not had a chunk of time to sit down and put it all down in writing.
I came across this which is very much in line with the Freedom and love of God that has become something of an inexpressible reality in my heart.
There is just so much more in the realms of tangible love for us.


"As we are now absorbed into a new Kingdom with a new King that reigns in our new hearts, I feel it wise for us to know what this Kingdom consists of. After all, if one never knows, how can one experience its treasures?

The Apostle Paul is genius in communicating this kingdoms ingredients and I feel it necessary to add nothing to His words. Romans 14:17 "[After all] the Kingdom of God is not a matter of [getting the ] food and drink [ one likes ] , but instead it is righteousness [ that state which makes a person acceptable to God] and [heart] peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.-amp. Righteousness, peace and joy, amazingly, are the evidence of the Kingdom of God.

The Great Gospel of imparted righteousness is in continual orbit around this glorious King and His Kingdom; Like the living creatures surrounding the throne continually singing, "Holy, Holy, Holy". All of heaven is enraptured in the ecstasy of His holiness and astonished that this holiness has been graced to us!

This holiness and righteousness is not attained by self-submission and self-obedience. No, this righteousness can only be drunk down as a gift. For no other kind of righteousness can stand before His presence. No other dance floor can hold His Joy and His Glory. Nothing but an unearned, unachieved, glorious gift!

In turn this Happy Message produces in a man such heart filling peace and enamoring joy that he realizes that he need nothing else. This man, that receives such a glorious existence given only by such a glorious God, becomes completely satisfied!

This is the state of Kingdom existence. Ecstatic satisfaction! This is what the Gospel affords and imparts to those who believe.

Many other things are mistaken to be evidence of Kingdom fullness. These are twisted ideas that measure a mans nearness to the Lord by a mans gift of miracles, encounters, ability or works. Such notions that leave room only for self-achievement, self-attainment and eventually lead to self-disappointment. When one gives his heart over to such a system of believing he forgets the very heart of the true Gospel, which is simple childlike faith. Instead of trusting in the ability of God, one finds himself in a place where his efforts are needed to produce the desired result. Whether it be miracles, holiness or any other good thing.

Language, then, also follows suit and what is heard from the mans tongue is no longer the glories of The Gift, but rather a boast in the need to pursue and to press. The song sung to the well of salvation is no longer heard.

The Jews were guilty because they demanded signs and wonders but missed the scandalous Grand Miracle, which was Christ coming to dwell in their hearts. The crime I believe was not the wanting of the miraculous but missing it when it came. The Greeks were equally guilty in their want for wisdom but again they missed Christ, who is the manifold wisdom of God. All of us are guilty of this subtle mesmerizing of the soul, but as subtle as it may be it leads to a polluted and stagnant pool. Surrendering to such ideas build up for ourselves a kingdom made of salt and castles made of sand, which inevitably fall with the changing of the wind.

Religion always wants something additional to simple faith and trust. Of course miracles do come, but they come at the call of faith. Jesus said that the signs would follow those who believe upon the Gospel. Believing upon the joyful message of what Christ has done is all that God really wants.

Let me put forth a simple truth. God does not need our help! This is a simple yet revolutionary truth. He does the miraculous sovereignly and independent of our striving, achieving or lack thereof. Paul in Galatians 3 reminds the bewitched Galatian church that Christ did miraculous and wondrous, supernatural things not according to their law rituals of fasting and self denial, but according to their clinging to and trusting in the message of the Gospel.

Yes, let us desire miracles and the endless, wondrous realms of heaven. But don't forget that heaven is at our hands. Forget not that heaven has invaded our hearts like a king conquering a foreign land needing permission from none. Forget not that Jesus is heaven and that He does not come and go. He abides with us and in us always. He, once and for all, opened heaven for all to taste and to drink their fill.

It's not just the for few who can press in for it. No, it is for all who believe! Don't take your eyes off of the Grand Miracle of a life possessed by God.

Scour the scriptures if you dare and see what you find. But be carful, major foundations of what you believe may be shaken and may even fall to their knees and bow to the Majestic Gospel.

The true evidence of fullness of the Kingdom and its realities is childlike faith being empowered and expressed by love. When this simple truth arrests a mans heart he sets sail on an endless ocean of bliss. The measuring rod of comparison is tossed overboard. The storms of un-fulfillment and disappointment disintegrate into nothing. No longer let down by the lack of seeing the miraculous, he is absorbed in a gaze at THE Miracle. Heaven is the wind in his sails and signs and wonders ripple endlessly behind. This man sings the melody of faith endlessly and joyously, like a drunken sailor singing after having too much rum. This is the true evidence of the realities of the Kingdom.

Let this be your song, let it drip from your lips like sticky honey dripping from the comb. Let all who hear it taste its sweetness and be addicted to its effects upon their soul."


Guys, how simple is this!!
Oh God, reveal the hugeness of your love for us, to us that we could represent this reality to others!!!

God Blessed you
Andrew

Revelation VS Obligation

Many teachings invading the bride of Christ today are based on out-of-context scriptures that seem to command believers to do certain things or live in a certain way, or make the believer responsible "to keep" their own salvation. This is the exact same issue that Paul aggressively wrote against in many of his letters.

Your ability to respond to the Gospel must only based on your revelation of what Jesus satisfied on the cross. Without a personal Revelation of the “Good News” revealed through “Jesus Christ and Him Crucified”, your “ability to respond” will only be man-empowered and therefore, doomed to end in failure.

If this Radical Gospel of Grace is not Clearly understood, the results will be no deferent from dead religion:
Satan says, “Yes, you’re under grace… but if you sin, you give me permission to come in and mess up your life”….. Friends, If we believe that, then we have just made Jesus death of no value to us.

If the message you are hearing has Fear attached to it – you have either misunderstood the message or you have understood the WRONG message because the Gospel has got NO fear attached to it. (1 john)

God is pleased with you because HE is pleased with JESUS
All of your faithless actions – which is sin (Rom 14), Has been declared, “paid for!” and “atoned for” ALL our disobedience – past, present, and future has been SWALLOWED up in the OBEDIANCE of JESUS on the cross.

Our understanding the Gospel is the sole Key for you to be Who God made YOU to be.

1Co 15:56 The “sting of death” is sin; (The thing that leads to DEATH is sin….. its like a deadly scorpion sting. That’s a "sting of death". There is nothing you can do in your own strength to stop it, working its poison.
The “sting of death” is sin; ("sin" here, is a Noun. It is our position in First Adam)
and the power of sin is the law:
The Law is what empowers sin - DO’s and DONT’s to attain Gods blessing.

You may say, but I’m not trying to be justified by the 10 commandments or the Old Testament LAW.
But If you believe:
That you need to have a QT to stay in Gods favor – you are under the LAW.
You have to be here today (in a Sunday meeting)to keep God Happy with you, you are UNDER the LAW
You have to pray for the sick to keep Gods favor on you, you are UNDER the LAW.
You have to share your Faith to Keep Gods favor – you are under the LAW.
Now, These things are all good, when they are out of a place of Holy Spirit given REVELATION!

The scorpion was disarmed at the cross because the LAW was fulfilled by Jesus on behalf of mankind.
The power of that poisonous "sin-sting" was made null and void. However, SATAN STILL ILLEGALLY tells those still laboring under Law OBLIGATIONS, that it’s really sore, and paralyzes them with CONDEMNATION.

“If you are Laboring under OBLIGATION instead of REVELATION, you will end up under CONDEMNATION because you will always fail in your own efforts.”
The Law will empower your failure (Under Obligation)….. To show you your need to walk in what Jesus has already done on your behalf (Gal 2:24)

If your Christian walk is more “HAVE TO” than “GET TO” then you have not yet fully understood the GOSPEL of Gods Grace. The Solution of FINDING rest is not to try harder in your own efforts, but to keep feeding on his Grace so that this REVELATION gets deep inside us.
This knowledge of His Goodness will allow you to receive and encounter Holy Spirit like never before. We wont be offended by Him, because we now know His NATURE. HE IS GOOD, and Only Good… ALL the time


Rom 10:4 "Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness for all who believe.
(there is no more righteousness to be attained via the LAW. CHRIST Ended it and has become “OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS”

God always intended for you to live in victory over sin. His Grace (undeserved, unmerited favor)was given to empower us to walk in victory.
Rom 6:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for you are not under law, but under grace.
The only reason sin will dominate our life is because we don’t know the truth about GRACE and are still living under the Law. Not the other way around….. Grace does not stir up sin.
The Law stirs up sin.

This Gospel, which is the Good news about Gods Grace was the sole subject of Paul's preaching, and nothing else. When we read his letters to churches, we MUST be sure to know the historic context into which he is writing. That, in most cases, he had already spent time sharing the truths about the Gospel of "Jesus Christ and Him Crucified" with them - A Gospel, that it seems, so many have no idea of. This is not spoken as an accusation, but rather as an observation - (including me up till a short while ago!!).

Our "job" as believers, is to believe the finished work of Jesus. The rest (works of Faith) will flow out of a REVELATION (not obligation) to this truth.

God wants you to be true to your own personal revelation of Him, not somebody else's. Be free to be you.

God blessed you!!
Andrew

Religion Drives..... Grace Directs

I read this by Steve McVey, its very good.

this where i got it, go have a look there, its well worth the visit
http://gracewalkministries.blogspot.com/2009/12/energized-by-grace_02.html

"Nothing is more invigorating to the life of a believer than continuously experiencing the grace of God. Religion drains a person. A religious man is a driven man. Grace doesn’t drive us, but directs us in a way that we enjoy serving God from a heart filled with gratitude. One walking in grace becomes increasingly energized as he serves, not spiritually exhausted.

Although he may at times experience the normal fatigue of mind and body which is common to humanity, he discovers that inwardly he is constantly empowered by divine life. His “inner man is being renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:16). He finds himself motivated from within to serve Jesus Christ with enthusiasm and consistency.“I don’t have to do anything because I’m under grace,” Becky said. She and her husband had disagreed many times about the responsibility of a Christian walking in grace. “I believe that there are certain things we need to do and grace has nothing to do with it, “ he argued. They had come to me to settle the question for them.

What would you tell them if they asked your opinion on the matter? Does a Christian have a duty to do certain things or is he free to sit down and do nothing for the rest of his life?It’s true that grace delivers the believer from the realm of religious duty. Becky wasn’t wrong in her assertion that Christians don’t have to do anything. However, during the course of my conversation with this couple, I sensed that neither of them clearly understood what it means to walk in grace. He did seek to impose his own religious expectations on her. There was no doubt about that. On the other hand, Becky didn’t appear to be on target in her perspective on the matter either. It sounded as if she had indeed become passive in many ways.

The good news of grace doesn’t stop by causing one to understand that he is free from the law. Genuine grace not only delivers us from something, but also delivers us to Someone. Grace opens our eyes to the union we share with Jesus Christ. It doesn’t give the believer an excuse to become lethargic and lazy. Instead it energizes him with the divine life of Jesus in such a way that he serves God with supernatural power. Grace is the divine enablement for one to powerfully express the life of Jesus Christ through his lifestyle.

Jesus was a man who was full of grace. (See John 1:14.) In three short years, His activity had impacted the whole known world because His actions were impregnated with divine power. This is hardly a description of a passive person. Concerning the lifestyle of those who follow Him, John said that “of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace” (John 1:16). God has poured the grace of Jesus Christ into us in a manner that causes us to be filled with grace. Our lives are piled high with grace on top of grace!Possessing the power of Jesus Christ, why would any Christian want to become passive?

One who suggests that the message of grace will produce passivity simply doesn’t understand what it means to walk in grace. One who has become passive hasn’t experienced its reality. A grace filled Christian usually won’t meet the expectations of the legalist, but he won’t become lazy in his Christian walk either. His lifestyle is a grace walk. Walking is always progressive, not passive.The Spirit of Jesus dwells within the believer.

An understanding of the implications of that truth will mobilize the believer. If the essence of Mozart suddenly came into you, what would you want to do? If the spirit of Picasso possessed you, would it make sense to never pick up a paint brush? If you were possessed by the life force of Mozart, nothing could keep you away from the piano. You would be thrilled by the awareness of the ability you possessed and would want to express it often. If the spirit of Picasso rested within you, a great desire to paint would continually motivate you toward the canvass. The knowledge of who was within you would be all the motivation you needed.

The good news of grace is that Jesus Christ is in you. What an awesome thought! You are privileged to live in a day that Old Testament saints couldn’t even imagine. They were thrilled when they met God on a mountain, in a burning bush, through a pillar of fire or a cloud of glory. These occasional encounters with Deity were often enough to change a man’s life forever. A fleeting glimpse of His glory and they were transformed.

If the glory of God were deposited in heaven, they were blessed to have pennies pitched their way.On the day that Jesus was crucified, the front door to the bank of heaven swung open wide and all the glory of God came pouring out all over those who received Him. The glory vault of heaven was opened and emptied out on those who believe! This concept was an unknown mystery in the Old Testament, but you belong to a chosen group “to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27).

If Old Testament saints could be motivated by a rare glimpse of God, what impact can the resident glory of God in the New Testament believer have on his life and the lives of those around him? When one knows who he is in Jesus Christ, he will be forever transformed. Once the revelation of the indwelling Christ becomes a reality to him it can never be unknown again. He will never get over the impact of seeing Jesus in him; of knowing that Christ is his very life. He will be forever energized by the glory of Christ within him."

(This article is an excerpt from my book, Grace Rules.)"


God Blessed you!!
Andrew